Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday accused the opposition of lying in its criticism of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), saying the law that has triggered deadly protests across the country does not intend to strip anyone’s citizenship.
“BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party), SP (Sawajwadi Party), Communist, Congress and Mamata Didi are against the CAA because they say minorities will lose their citizenship. Why are they lying? CAA is a law to give citizenship, it is not meant to take anyone’s citizenship away,” Mr Shah said at a rally in Bhubaneswar.
Making religion a test of Indian nationality for the first time, the CAA promises citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Mr Shah and the BJP government at the centre have maintained that the law only intends to help those who have faced religious persecution in the neighbouring countries.
