A day after the Indian government informed of having distributed the first set of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) certificates, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday accused the Samajwadi Party and Congress of "spreading lies about CAA" in an attempt "to push country towards riots."
The Ministry of Home Affairs said on Wednesday, May 15, that the first set of citizenship certificates under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has been issued, adding that 14 were people given Indian citizenship.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla handed over citizenship certificates under CAA to first 14 people in New Delhi, the MHA said on Wednesday.
Addressing a rally on Thursday in Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh, PM Modi said the work of giving citizenship to those who are victims of partition has already started under CAA, adding that Samajwadi Party and Congress spread lies about CAA and tried to push country towards riots.
"Granting Indian citizenship to refugees has already started under CAA... They all have been living in our country for a long, they are those people who have to suffer because of the partition of the country based on religion. Those who get to power in the name of Mahatma Gandhi but don't remember what he used to say... Congress never cared about these people, because they were not the vote bank of congress...," PM Modi said in the rally.
PM Modi also asked the crowd if there is anyone alive who can remove CAA, something that the Opposition has vowed to do if it comes to power.
"Till today these INDI Alliance people say that the CAA brought by Modi will eb removed the day he goes, brothers and sistiers has anyone taken birth in this country who can dare to remove CAA," the Prime Minister said.
"Desh-videsh kahin se bhi, jo bhi taakat ikatthi karni hai kar lo... aap CAA nahi mita paaoge, [gather whatever power you can from the country or globally, you can't end CAA]," PM Modi said.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government on March 11 made the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019, a reality by notifying rules for it, a move that came four years after the contentious law was passed in Parliament.
After the enactment, the CAA got the president's assent but the rules under which the Indian citizenship was granted were issued only on March 11.
The passage of CAA in Parliament in December 2019 had sparked massive protests in parts of the country.
