Amit Shah Dares Opposition For Public Debate On CAA, Says No Question Of Going Back On New Law

Union Home Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday dared opposition for a public debate on new citizenship law, saying canards are being spread against CAA by Congress, Samajwadi Party, BSP, and Trinamool Congress. Shah was addressing a public rally in Lucknow to dispel doubts over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The rally is part of the Bharatiya Janata Party's countrywide campaign on the CAA issue.

He said that the new law has no provision of taking anyone's citizenship. "Congress has become blind due to vote bank politics,"he said. He also balmed the Congress for Partition.

Shah also declared that construction of a Ram temple touching the skies in Ayodhya will begin within three months.

According to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 and face religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.

Amit Shah is in Uttar Pradesh which has been the worst-affected state during the CAA violence. From Kanpur to Firozabad, violent clashes were reported in several cities of the state. Though there have been various claims and counter-claims, UP officials maintain that 19 people were killed in the state during violent clashes.

Police have faced flak over the manner in which they handled violent protests in Uttar Pradesh, with human rights activists accusing them of using excessive force and targetting innocent people. Most of the deaths during the violence had taken place due to firearm injuries. Officials claimed there was firing at some places by protesters but police opened fire at a couple of places only in self defence.