New Delhi: Amit Shah ducked the question of CAA-NRC chronology which had fuelled one of the widest protests in post-independent India after the CAA or Citizenship Amendment Act was passed in December 2019.
On May 1, 2019, in a public rally, Amit Shah had announced the “chronology” of the Citizenship Amendment Act preceding the controversial National Register of Citizens (NRC) by design and tweeted, along with his video, “First we will pass the Citizenship Amendment bill and ensure that all the refugees from the neighbouring nations get the Indian citizenship. After that NRC will be made and we will detect and deport every infiltrator from our motherland.”
First we will pass the Citizenship Amendment bill and ensure that all the refugees from the neighbouring nations get the Indian citizenship. After that NRC will be made and we will detect and deport every infiltrator from our motherland. pic.twitter.com/oB2SlBaQ0j
Advertisement— Amit Shah (Modi Ka Parivar) (@AmitShah) May 1, 2019
Now, under fire for the timing of the rules for the CAA being announced by the Home Ministry, at the eve of the general elections and four years and three months after the Act was passed, Shah shied away from speaking about the sequence of CAA leading to the NRC. Dodging the question on chronology, that his forceful mentions had pushed into political folklore, he said, “There is no NRC now, talk only about the CAA.” He asked ANI to not “mix” the two issues.
“Akhand Bharat” logic for CAA
In the podcast out earlier today, Shah said, “In Akhand Bharat, all the religious minorities who had been persecuted, we have a duty to protect and offer refuge to.” On Muslim groups like Hazaras, Shias or Ahmadiyas being possibly persecuted in those countries, Shah refused to accept that they were persecuted, saying, “Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh are Islamic countries. We have no data on the persecution. How can Muslims be persecuted there?” Calling the law as one tied with India’s past, Shah said Muslims were allowed to seek citizenship under other laws, but the CAA fast-tracked citizenship for non-Muslim minorities from three countries in South Asia who had come into the country before December 2019 and had been residing in India for five years.
Shah hastened to castigate the Opposition for raising the question of the timing of the rules, as it was “part of the BJP’s election manifesto in 2019 and passed over four years ago.” The rules were not formalised due to “some political complications, then Covid”. He insisted this was “not about political gain.”
Mindful of the chaos in eastern India, especially Assam, West Bengal and other north-eastern states, he spoke of the Act not being applicable to those in states requiring Inner Line Permits or those groups/areas protected by the Constitution of India’s Sixth schedule.
In an explanatory post on X (formerly Twitter), AltNews‘s Abhishek writes about the misrepresentation, twisting of facts and the spread of misinformation.
“Home Minister Amit Shah said that in 1951, Hindu Population of Bangladesh was 22%. You must be thinking that Bangladesh got independence in 1971, how is he claiming the census according to 1951? But wait, he is referring to East Bengal/East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Separate data is available for East Pakistan’s census.
But wait, when he claims about the Hindu and Sikh population (23%) of Pakistan, the point must be noted, according to the same data he is referring, Pakistan’s first 1951 census data available on the Indian government website (pdf link attached below), the combined Hindu and other religion’s population (excluding Muslim and Christians) was 12.86% of the total Pakistan, East Bengal/East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and West Pakistan’s population.
If the data of East Bengal/East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) gets excluded from the total population count, as the Home Minister has already mentioned that data separately, the total percentage of Hindu and other religions population (excluding Muslim and Christians) were 7.5% of the total Population of today’s Pakistan (including just Pakistan and West Pakistan).
In both ways, whether he includes or excludes East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) data, his claim about the post-partition census is still incorrect about the Hindu and Sikh population in Pakistan.”
This is what misrepresentation of facts looks like. A very clever way of twisting facts and spreading misinformation as per your need.
AdvertisementHome Minister Amit Shah said that in 1951, Hindu Population of Bangladesh was 22%. You must be thinking that Bangladesh got independence in… https://t.co/LlqmIo79Go pic.twitter.com/QeB4DPBnkt
— Abhishek (@AbhishekSay) March 14, 2024
“Hindu law is civil code only”
Shah also spoke about other promises of the Modi government that they were “fulfilling”. In answer to a question, he wanted “foreign journalists” asked, “if their countries had triple talaq or Islamic law?” When questioned why there was Hindu law in India, he significantly said, “Hindu law is Hindu in name only. It is the country’s Nagrik Kanoon, only.”
