Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday, 2 January, described the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as "mostly political" and asserted that no Indian will lose his or her nationality due to the newly enacted legislation.
Shah also challenged Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi to show one clause in the CAA under which anyone is going to lose Indian citizenship.
"I agree that these are mostly political protests. Some people are also misguided but we are trying to convince them," he told ABP News, according to PTI.
- A few organisers have withdrawn from the Shaheen Bagh protest, in an attempt to “avoid politicisation of the stage by parties”, according to a message being forwarded
- Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal was shown black flags by agitators protesting against the contentious law on Wednesday
- Kerala’s legislators passed a resolution against the CAA in the state Assembly on Tuesday, demanding its withdrawal
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Protests Against CAA 'Mostly Political': Amit Shah
Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday described the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as "mostly political" and asserted that no Indian will lose his or her nationality due to the newly enacted legislation.
Shah also challenged Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi to show one clause in the CAA under which anyone is going to lose Indian citizenship.
"I agree that these are mostly political protests. Some people are also misguided but we are trying to convince them," he told ABP News, according to PTI.
Mass Pledge at India Gate: ‘Kaagaz Nahi Dikhayenge’
Beginning the New Year with a pledge to oppose the CAA and the NRC, scores of protesters took a mass pledge at India Gate Wednesday to not show any documents to prove their citizenship, The Indian Express reported.
With placards in hands, raising the slogan ‘kaagaz nahi dikhayenge’, the crowd pledged to defend the Constitution.
After reading the Preamble to the Constitution, the protesters pledged: “We, today on 1st January 2020, reiterate our resolve to give ourselves a society free of oppressors and take oath to not show any document to prove our citizenship. We will observe and propagate complete non-cooperation with anti-constitutional and anti-India forces.”
Some Organisers Withdraw From Shaheen Bagh Protest
A few of the organisers have withdrawn from the Shaheen Bagh protest, in an attempt to “avoid politicisation of the stage by parties”, according to a message being forwarded by some organisers. However, some of the locals are still continuing the protest and have reportedly been joined by some members of political parties..
“We have called off the Shaheen Bagh road blockade today to avoid the impending violence from party goons and to avoid politicisation of the stage by parties. Police was probably asked not to intervene, because BJP intends to intervene themselves. If that happens, our peaceful protest will be tarnished, and it will break the morale of the people. We have achieved a lot in last 20 days, with greatest among them was the participation of women, and the peaceful way in which we have maintained this. We can block the road again in a few days, if we retreat peacefully,” the message said.
Reached Out to Countries on CAA, NRC: MEA
MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said on Thursday that they had reached out to countries across the world on Citizenship (Amendment) Act and NRC.
“We did reach out to countries across all geographical regions, we did write to our missions to share our prospective on Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens with the host government,” Kumar said.
“We did reach out to countries across all geographical regions, we did write to our missions to share our prospective on Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens with the host government,” Kumar said.