JAIPUR: Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused the Congress and other Opposition parties of spreading misinformation on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and offered to send an Italian translation of the Act “if Rahul Gandhi has trouble understanding it”.
Addressing a rally in Jodhpur on Friday, Shah turned up the heat on opposition parties as he kicked off the BJP’s outreach campaign on the CAA. “Even if all these parties come together, BJP will not budge an inch. Let them spread as much misinformation as they want,” he thundered.
Shah said the Congress was misleading Muslims while challenging party leader Rahul Gandhi to a debate on the issue. “Rahul baba, if you have read the law, come anywhere for a discussion… If you haven’t, I will get it translated into Italian,” he jabbed.
Shah said the Congress was opposing the legitimacy that the BJP was granting to refugees from three neighboring countries for fear of losing its vote bank. “They didn’t have the courage to do it, hence the lies and misinformation. Modi had the courage to include minorities who were mistreated in their own countries.”
Shah said the BJP will take out 500 rallies across the country beginning Saturday to reach out to 3 crore people. “We will not withdraw the CAA. The law is not against minorities. No provision in the amended law will take anyone’s citizenship away,” he said.
The rally was held on the home turf of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot because Jodhpur region has a large population of Hindu migrants from Pakistan, many of whom have been waiting to get Indian citizenship for years. “Gehlot is busy prostrating in the Sonia Durbar but we would like to know why he is opposed to refugees in his home district,” Shah asked.