New Delhi, February 10, 2024 – Union Home Minister Amit Shah has revealed the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) plan to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) across India before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The announcement comes as part of the party’s strategic preparations for the electoral battle.
Shah, during a program, clarified that the primary objective of the CAA is not to revoke anyone’s citizenship but to provide refuge and citizenship to minorities facing religious persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. He drew attention to the historical stance of the Congress party during the partition, where they welcomed minorities fleeing persecution and offered them citizenship in India.
Addressing concerns of misinformation, Shah accused the opposition of misleading Muslims about the CAA’s true intent. He reiterated that the sole purpose of the CAA is to extend citizenship to religious minorities from neighboring countries.
The CAA, introduced by the Narendra Modi government, seeks to grant Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim immigrants, including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians, who arrived in India before December 31, 2014, from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
Since its passage in December 2019, the CAA has been met with widespread protests across the country. Shah also touched upon the impending Lok Sabha elections, framing it as a decisive battle between corruption and development.
He highlighted that the election is not just a contest between INDIA and NDA but a choice between governance tainted by corruption and a commitment to a corruption-free administration. Shah further characterized the election as a decision between those prioritizing national security and those compromising it under the guise of foreign policy.
