Refugees denied citizenship rights due to appeasement policy of Cong-led govts: Amit Shah
Ahmedabad, Aug 18: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said a large number of refugees were denied citizenship rights in the country due to the appeasement policy of past governments led by the Congress and its allies.
Addressing a gathering in Ahmedabad after handing over citizenship certificates to 188 Hindu refugees in Gujarat, Shah said the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) is about giving rights and justice to lakhs of refugees.
He also assured Muslims that there is no provision in the CAA to take away anyone's citizenship, as it is about granting citizenship.
"Because of the policy of appeasement of past governments headed by the Congress and its allies, those who came to the country seeking refuge did not get (citizenship) rights and justice from 1947 to 2014," Shah said.
"They (refugees) were not just tortured in neighbouring countries for being Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh, but also in our country as lakhs and crores of people longed for justice for three generations," he said.
Past governments allowed crores of intruders into the country and made them citizens illegally, but they denied citizenship to those who followed the law and applied for the same by saying there was no legal provision for it, Shah said.
"From this forum I would like to ask those who ran past governments as to what was the fault of the people, who came here to save their sisters and daughters and their properties, that they could not become citizens of this country," Shah asked.
Asserting that law is for the public and not the other way round, Shah said the BJP had promised in 2014 that it would bring in CAA after coming to power and it was done in 2019, which gave justice to crores of Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs.
"After the law was passed, everyone was misled that this would cause injustice to Muslims and they would lose their citizenship. Today, I want to make it clear again to the Muslim community that there is no provision in this law to take away anyone's citizenship. This law works to grant citizenship," the Union minister said.
However, even today certain state governments are misleading people, he said.
"The absence of such a law granting citizenship ensured people of our country remained destitute in our own country. What can be a bigger misfortune and irony than this? It could not happen due to the policy of appeasement for so many years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to bring the law in 2019, and I had the privilege of passing the law in Parliament," Shah said.
He said Bangladesh had 27 per cent Hindus at the time of partition, but today they are just 9 per cent as they have been subjected to forced religious conversion.
"Where have the rest gone? They were either subjected to forced religious conversion, or ran here seeking refuge. Don't they have the right to live as per their religion? If they can't live with respect in the neighbouring country and seek refuge in our country, what should we do? We cannot sit as silent spectators. This is the Narendra Modi government, you will get justice," he asserted.
He told refugees from all over the country to apply for citizenship without hesitation as this will not affect their job or their properties since they will be granted citizenship with retrospective effect.
"The law has no provision of criminal cases. Everyone is pardoned because the government had delayed and not you," he said.
The CAA was enacted because during Independence, India was partitioned on the basis of religion and minorities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh were subject to torture, their families were displaced, which forced rich people to become vegetable vendors in Indian cities.
After partition, Congress leaders had promised to grant citizenship to Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh refugees coming from neighbouring countries, but they moved away from the decision as elections neared.
"Promises made in 1947, 1948, and 1950 by Jawaharlal Nehru and calls made by Mahatma Gandhi were forgotten, because they (Congress) felt that if granted citizenship, it would anger their vote bank. Because of appeasement, lakhs and crores of people were denied citizenship. There cannot be a bigger sin than this," Shah said.
Shah said when Modi was named the prime ministerial candidate by the BJP in 2014, he told citizens the country's democracy was suffering from dynastic politics, casteism, appeasement and corruption.
"Modiji has worked very hard to root out these four cankers. He worked to end triple talaq, Article 370 (which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir) and ensured justice to crores of Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists by amending Citizenship Act," Shah said.
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Heavy rain, hailstorms likely to lash Uttarakhand on Tuesday; IMD issues warning
Dehradun/Pithoragarh (PTI): The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning for heavy rain and hailstorms across several districts of Uttarakhand on Tuesday, as temperatures remained markedly below normal in the region.
Heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places in Dehradun, Haridwar, Tehri, Pauri, Nainital, Champawat, and Udham Singh Nagar districts. Most places across all districts are expected to receive light to moderate rain or thunderstorms, while higher reaches are likely to witness snowfall, officials said on Monday.
The weather department warned of thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, hail and intense spells of rain in six districts, including Dehradun and Nainital. Gusty winds with speeds reaching 40-50 kmph are also expected at isolated locations in these areas and other hilly districts.
In the state capital, Dehradun, the sky is forecast to remain partly cloudy with light rain and thunderstorms accompanied by gusty winds of 30-40 kmph.
The maximum and minimum temperatures in the city are expected to hover around 31 degrees Celsius and 19 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Maximum temperatures during the past 24 hours remained markedly below normal in the hills and appreciably below normal in the plains. While no significant change in temperature is expected over the next 2-3 days, the IMD predicts a rise of 3-5 degrees Celsius during the subsequent 3-4 days.
Rainfall was recorded in several areas after 8.30 am today, with Ramnagar receiving 31.5 mm and Nainital recording 26.5 mm. Other areas, including Pithoragarh, Khatima and Champawat, also reported moderate precipitation.
Authorities have stopped a batch of 36 Adi Kailash pilgrims at the Dharchula base camp and placed the high-altitude yatra route on high alert following heavy rains and hailstorms in the district on Monday.
Dharchula SDM Ashish Joshi said the pilgrimage was halted due to adverse weather conditions. The issuance of new inner-line passes has been suspended until the weather normalises.
With 1,700 passes issued so far, pilgrims already at higher camps are being monitored for safety, the official added.
