Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday was firm about the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). At a rally in Lucknow, he reaffirmed that CAA will be implemented in the country \u201cno matter who opposes it\u201d.<\/p>\n
He challenged the opposition to hold an open debate on the Act, saying: \u201cMamata-didi<\/em>, Rahul-baba<\/em>, Akhilesh-ji<\/em>, whoever among you has the guts to conduct an open debate on the issue, choose a stage for it.\u201d Shah asked why Mamata Banerjee was creating trouble when the BJP wants to give citizenships to the Matua<\/em> and Namasudra<\/em> refugees. He continued, \u201cShow me any clause in the CAA which can take away anyone\u2019s citizenship, let alone Muslims.\u201d<\/p>\n Shah accused the Opposition including the Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party and Congress among others of misleading people and spreading unrest in the country. He reiterated his claim saying that CAA does not aim to take away anyone\u2019s citizenship, and it is to grant citizenship to refugees and give them a new lease of life. He accused the Congress for the Partition and called it a consequence of a \u201csin committed by Congress\u201d.<\/p>\n Not only other political parties, Shah also targeted the protesters across the country. At the rally, Shah said that CAA protesters have taken to a \u201cfashion\u201d of coming out to the streets by tying bands around their heads. He said the protesters were putting up a \u201cshow of human rights concern\u201d when the Muslims population was affected, and accused them of being indifferent when non-Muslims were persecuted or driven away from Muslim majority countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. \u201cWhere was your concern for human rights when crores were tortured in these countries?\u201d he questioned.<\/p>\n Referring to a \u201creduced\u201d non-Muslim population in neighbouring Muslim dominated countries, Shah said \u201cWhere did they go? Either they were killed or converted (to Muslims), the women got abducted\u00a0or they had to take refuge in India.\u201d He called the CAA protesters \u201cblind and deaf\u201d and alleged that they chose to ignore it when the people from non-Muslim communities were persecuted in these countries.<\/p>\n