CAA to be implemented before Lok sabha elections: Amit Shah
Speaking at the ET Now-Global Business Summit in Delhi, Home Minister Amit Shah addressed concerns around the Citizenship Amendment Act. He stated that the CAA is now law and will be implemented before elections, so there should be no confusion. Shah clarified that the CAA does not take away citizenship from any Indian, as there is no such provision in the law. Rather, its purpose is to grant citizenship to refugees who faced religious persecution in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Shah expressed that some groups, especially the Muslim community, are being misled about the CAA.
The implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), passed in Parliament on December 11, 2019, was a prominent campaign promise for the BJP during the Lok Sabha elections.
Shah further criticized the previous Congress government for reneging on its promise to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the country.
The Congress government had promised to enact the CAA. When the country was divided and minorities faced persecution in neighboring countries, the Congress assured refugees that India welcomed them and would grant them citizenship. However, Congress is now going back on that promise," the opposition leader stated, as quoted by ANI news agency.
The Citizenship Amendment Act, amending the Citizenship Act of 1955, was passed in the Indian Parliament on December 11, 2019.
What is the Citizenship Amendment Act?
The Citizenship Amendment Act, commonly referred to as CAA, was introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to grant Indian citizenship to persecuted religious minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who had migrated to India before December 31, 2014. Specifically, it aimed to provide citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi, and Christian migrants fleeing religious persecution in those Muslim-majority countries.
