CAA won't be repealed; Muslims can apply for citizenship under the law: Amit Shah

Ruling out the repeal of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah today said Muslims still have the right to apply for citizenship under the law.

"CAA will never be taken back. It is our sovereign right to ensure Indian citizenship in our country. We will never compromise on it," Shah told ANI.

Asked about the concerns voiced by opposition parties and the foreign media about CAA, Shah said, "You cannot see this law in isolation. In 1947, the partition was done based on religion... Congress leaders at the time had said that people who migrated could come back anytime. But due to appeasement politics, Congress never fulfilled its promise... "

He said '….Even Muslims have the right to apply for citizenship ... The doors have not been closed for anyone. This special act has been made as people have come without any documents…"

The home minister's remarks came three days after the rules for implementation of CAA were notified. Since then, the opposition has been criticising the Narendra Modi government over the timing of notifying the rules just ahead of the polls after the law was passed in December 2019.

In an apparent response to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee repeatedly saying CAA would be followed by enforcing NRC in other parts of India after Assam, Shah said the National Register of Citizens has "nothing to do with the CAA".

He said there was "no need for minorities or any other person to fear because there is no provision in CAA to take away anyone's citizenship".

"CAA is only to give rights and citizenship to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, Christians and Parsi refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan," he added.