New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has dismissed former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his party's criticism of the Citizenship Amendment Act, rules of which were notified this week.
In the interview with ANI, the Union Minister challenged the Congress leader to appear on a public platform and put forth the case of his party on the issue.
"I request you to interview Rahul Gandhi about the issue in detail and explain his reason for opposing the CAA to the general public. In politics, it's your responsibility to justify your decisions. If the CAA is a decision by my government, I have to explain my party's position, the government's decision and why it is in favour of the nation. Similarly, Rahul Gandhi should explain his opposition to the legislation."
Earlier Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh had questioned the timing of the promulgation of the rules of the Citizenship Amendment Act. The Congress alleged that this was a controversial law because citizenship is never based on religion, it goes against the Constitution.
In reply the Home Minister said that the opposition was only indulging in politics of lies as the CAA had been a part of the BJP's manifesto for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and was introduced in Parliament in 2019 itself.
"All opposition parties including Rahul Gandhi, Mamata or Kejriwal are indulging in 'jhooth ki rajneeti' (politics of lies) so the question of timing does not arise. BJP has made it clear in its 2019 manifesto that it will bring CAA and provide Indian citizenship to refugees (from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan). BJP has a clear agenda and under that promise, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was passed in both houses of Parliament in 2019. It got delayed due to Covid. BJP had cleared its agenda well before the party got its mandate in the polls" the Home Minister said.
"Rules are now a formality. There is no question of timing, political gain or loss. Now, the Opposition wants to consolidate their vote bank by doing appeasement politics. I want to request them that they have been exposed. CAA is the law for the entire country and I have reiterated nearly 41 times in four years that it will become a reality," he added.
The Home Minister said that there is "no question of political gain as the main aim of the BJP is to provide rights and justice to persecuted minorities coming from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
"The opposition had even raised questions on surgical strike and the abrogation of Article 370 and linked it with political gain. So should we not take stern steps against terrorism? We have been saying since 1950 that we will withdraw Article 370" the Home Minister said.
The Ministry of Home Affairs on March 11 notified CAA Rules, 2024, removing legal barriers to rehabilitation and citizenship to such persons, and will give a dignified life to refugees who have suffered for decades.
CAA aims to provide Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants - including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians - who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and arrived in India before December 31, 2014.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)