Jail for anti-national slogans: Shah

‘We will not rest’

With the notification of the CAA — which clears the decks for its pan India implementation -- the tone of the BJP dispensation has become shrill. Not just that. The government is talking in multiple voices, which serves to heighten insecurities in a section of the population and create further confusion

Rather than allaying the misgivings of citizens, which have sharpened with the ham-handed handling of anti-CAA protests, Home Minister Amit Shah, while addressing a rally in Jabalpur, said those who indulge in anti-national sloganeering belong to jail.

"In JNU, some people raised anti-India slogans. They say 'Bharat tere tukde ho ek hazar, inshallah inshallah'. Shouldn't such people be in jails? Any traitor, who raises slogans against the country, will be put behind bars," he said, addressing a gathering organised to drum up support for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

He was alluding to the 'Tukde-Tukde' gang -- a term which is often used derisively by the right-wing to attack the opposition, particularly Left and Left-backed outfits as well as those who support them.

The minister also said that the government "will not rest" until each oppressed Pakistani refugee is given Indian citizenship. "Congress people, listen...Oppose (CAA) to the extent you can. But we won't sit quiet till each oppressed refugee from Pakistan gets Indian citizenship," he said.

"We will rest only after giving citizenship to all these people. Nobody can stop us from doing so," he added. "The Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Christian refugees from Pakistan have the same rights in India as we have," he asserted.

He also launched a scathing attack on the Trinamool Congress and the Congress party for 'misleading' the nation on CAA and challenged them to point out a single provision in the law which takes away anyone's citizenship.

Accusing the Congress party of dividing the country, Home Minister said, "When the partition of the country took place, it was Congress party which divided the country on the basis of religion."

He further reiterated the party's stand on Ayodhya's Ram mandir and said the 'sky-touching' temple would be completed in four months.