Kejriwal has lost his calm, says Shah on CAA doubts; country first: AAP chief
Union Home Minister asks why AAP national convener remained mum on Rohingya infiltration; Kejriwal says Act’s implementation to create law and order problems, jeopardise women safety
nion Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act ( CAA) shows that he has “lost his calm” due to the uncovering of his corruption and the “tough” Lok Sabha election his party faces in the Capital.
Mr. Shah also said while the AAP chief has opposed citizenship to persecuted minorities from neighbouring countries, he has so far remained silent over the Bangladeshi and Rohingya “infiltration” into the country.
Mr. Shah’s statement drew a sharp reaction from Mr. Kejriwal, who said he doesn’t care if the BJP leader calls him corrupt as the country comes first for him. He claimed that the implementation of the Act will trigger larger migration than the Partition, creating law and order pro
Ublems and jeopardising women safety.
The Union Home Ministry on Monday notified the rules for the implementation of the CAA that was passed by Parliament in December 2019. The law facilitates citizenship to “persecuted” people belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi, Christian and Jain communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Mr. Kejriwal on Wednesday alleged that the Centre’s move allowing poor minorities from neighbouring nations to settle in India will snatch away job opportunities from the countrymen, and it is aimed at “only creating a vote bank” for the BJP in the areas where it is weak.
Reacting to the allegations, Mr. Shah in a podcast with a news agency said the minorities in neighbouring countries faced persecution ever since India was partitioned on the basis of religion in 1947.
“They were being converted, women were being tortured. Don’t they have the right to get our citizenship? ” Mr. Shah said.
‘Questions unanswered’ Hours after, Mr. Kejriwal in a video message said Mr. Shah did not answer the questions raised by him and only “abused” him.
He asked why the BJP did nothing to stop those belonging to the Rohingya community (predominantly Muslims from Myanmar) from entering India after 2014 when it came to power at the Centre.
He also expressed concern over the security situation after the refugees settle in in the country.“If the slums of these intruders from Pakistan are constructed right in front of your homes, would you accept it? Will your daughters be safe? Would you feel safe among the people whom you don’t know? What if Pakistan sends people intentionally? There will be constant law and order problems,” he said.