New Delhi : Union Home Minister Amit Shah Sunday said that Article 370 nurtured the thought that led to the birth of terror factories. “Article 370, which nurtured that thought that led to the birth of terror factories and was the main reason for them to be operational, was abolished by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said distributing citizenship certificates to 188 refugees under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, in the presence of Chief Minister of Gujarat, Bhupendra Patel.

“It was PM Modi who did the work of building a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya after 550 years. Similarly, the Kashi Vishwanath temple destroyed by Aurangzeb has been rebuilt. The Shaktipeeth of Pavagadh destroyed by Muhammad Begada has also been restored. PM Modi also did the work of ending Triple Talaq in India,” Home Minister Shah said. He said there was no provision in the CAA to take anyone’s citizenship as it was a law to give citizenship.

Shah said, “There is no provision in this law to take anyone’s citizenship and it is a law to give citizenship.” He said that this law was passed in 2019 but even after that people were provoked and told that it would take away the citizenship of Muslims.

Shah said CAA was not just to give citizenship to millions of people settled in the country, but to provide justice and rights to millions of refugees. He said that due to the appeasement policy of the previous governments, the people who took refuge in the country from 1947 to 2014 did not get their rights and justice.

The Home Minister said that these people had to endure abuse not only in neighbouring countries but also here. He said that these millions of people yearned for justice for three generations but due to the appeasement policy of the opposition, they did not get justice.

Shah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had provided justice to these lakhs and crores of people. He said that at the time of independence, India was divided based on religion and at that time there were severe riots.

The Home Minister said crores of Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, and Christians living in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh cannot forget their sufferings. He said that many families were left desolated, while, those now in Opposition had then promised that people from Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain, and Christian communities coming from neighbouring countries would be given citizenship of India.

Shah said that by the time the elections came, the leaders of the then government had reneged on their promises and the assurances made in 1947, 1948, and 1950 were forgotten. He said that the then government did not give citizenship to these people as it would have angered their vote bank.

The Home Minister said that due to their policy of appeasement, millions of these people were deprived of citizenship and there could be no greater sin than that. He said that crores of people fled and suffered, and many lost their families and property, but here in India, they did not even get citizenship.

Shah said that the journey from 1947 to 2019 and 2019 to 2024 will always be remembered by the history of this country. He asked why could not those from neighbouring countries who came to India seeking self-respect be given citizenship.

The Home Minister said that on the one hand, the Opposition made crores of people citizens illegally in India by infiltrating them from across the border, and on the other hand, those who followed and abided by the law were told that there was no legal provision for their citizenship. He said that the law was for the people and not the people for the law.

“We had promised in 2014 that we would bring CAA and in 2019 the Modi government brought this law,” Shah said. He said that through this law, crores of Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs, who did not get justice, started getting justice.

“People of our own country are living in destitution in our own country, what can be more unfortunate and ironic than this?” the Home Minister said. He said that what could not be done for many years due to the appeasement policy, PM Modi did and brought this law in 2019.

Shah said that even after the law was passed in 2019, these families did not get citizenship till 2024 as riots were fomented in the country and minorities were instigated. He said rumours were spread in the country about CAA.

“This law does not take away anyone’s citizenship and it is a law to give citizenship to Hindu, Jain, Sikh, and Buddhist refugees,” the Home Minister said. He said that even today some state governments were misleading the people.

Shah appealed to the refugees across the country to feel free to apply for citizenship and this would keep their jobs, and houses, intact as before. He said that there was no provision for any criminal prosecution in this law and everyone had been given amnesty. The Home Minister said that this had been done because the delay in giving citizenship was due to the government and not because of the people.

He told the refugees across the country that this law would work to give justice and honour, and would be atonement for the atrocities that happened to the refugee people. Shah said that when the partition took place, there were 27 percent Hindus in Bangladesh, today only 9 percent were left. “Where did the remaining Hindus go? They were forcibly converted,” the Home Minister said.

“The people who came in our shelter deserve to have a life of self-respect and continue to practice their religion as per their wish?” he said. “If neighbours cannot live with dignity in their country and come to our shelter, we cannot remain a mute spectator.” Shah said this was the Narendra Modi government and these people would get justice in this government.

He said that the refugees had been demanding to bring this law for a long time and PM Modi took a strong-willed decision in 2019 and got the law passed. The Home Minister said that after the passage of this law, there were violent incidents in some places, but finally, before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, they were able to bring out the necessary rules to confer the right of citizenship along with a certificate to the applicants.

He said that in 2014, PM Modi had said that the democracy of this country was suffering from the four evils of nepotism, casteism, appeasement, and corruption. Shah said that in the last 10 years, PM Modi had worked tirelessly to uproot these four evils.

He said that on August 15 this year, PM Modi had appealed against dynastic politics asking 1 lakh youth to join politics, those whose family members are not in politics.

The Home Minister said PM Modi also fought against corruption and declared four castes – poor, women, youth, and farmers – to end the scourge of casteism. He said that PM Modi put a new kind of political philosophy before the country and also ended the politics of appeasement. Shah said that there were many issues in this country which were stuck for decades.

“The amendment to the citizenship law was also brought by PM Modi and justice was given to crores of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, and Jain brothers who were deprived of their rights,” he said. The Home Minister appealed to the refugees across the country that the Opposition parties would try to mislead them, but they should not be afraid. He said that those who were misleading minorities should know that they were doing injustice to them. Referring to the Opposition, Shah said that they did not dare to bring this law, but now at least they should support the Modi government in implementing it.

CNI