GANDHINAGAR: The Hindu population in Bangladesh has drastically reduced from 27% during Partition to 9% today due to forced conversions and displacement, home minister Amit Shah said Sunday in Ahmedabad.
“Where have the rest gone? They were either subjected to forced religious conversion or sought refuge in India. 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 can’t sit as silent spectators.This is Modi government, you will get justice,” Shah asserted.
The event marked the granting of citizenship certificates to 188 Hindu refugees who had come from Pakistan before Dec 31, 2014. Shah emphasised that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) aims to provide rights and justice to refugees and assured the Muslim community that the law does not revoke anyone’s citizenship, but it facilitates granting it.
Shah also took the opportunity to criticise past Congress-led governments, accusing them of delaying citizenship for refugees due to appeasement politics. “Those who sought refuge in India were denied citizenship from 1947 to 2014,” Shah said. “They (refugees) weren’t 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 while intruders were made citizens illegally in the past, those who followed the law and applied for citizenship were denied. “From this forum I would like to ask those who ran past govts 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?”
In contrast, Shah praised PM Modi’s government for acting on promises and reforms. He highlighted the abolition of Article 370, the ending of triple talaq, and the amendments to the citizenship law as key achievements under PM Modi’s leadership.
“After the law (CAA) 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,” Shah said.
He urged refugees across India to apply for citizenship without fear, assuring them that the process would not affect their jobs or properties and would be granted with retrospective effect. “The law has no provision for criminal cases. Everyone is pardoned because the delay was due to government, not you,” he said.
“Where have the rest gone? They were either subjected to forced religious conversion or sought refuge in India. 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 can’t sit as silent spectators.This is Modi government, you will get justice,” Shah asserted.
The event marked the granting of citizenship certificates to 188 Hindu refugees who had come from Pakistan before Dec 31, 2014. Shah emphasised that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) aims to provide rights and justice to refugees and assured the Muslim community that the law does not revoke anyone’s citizenship, but it facilitates granting it.
Shah also took the opportunity to criticise past Congress-led governments, accusing them of delaying citizenship for refugees due to appeasement politics. “Those who sought refuge in India were denied citizenship from 1947 to 2014,” Shah said. “They (refugees) weren’t 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 while intruders were made citizens illegally in the past, those who followed the law and applied for citizenship were denied. “From this forum I would like to ask those who ran past govts 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?”
In contrast, Shah praised PM Modi’s government for acting on promises and reforms. He highlighted the abolition of Article 370, the ending of triple talaq, and the amendments to the citizenship law as key achievements under PM Modi’s leadership.
“After the law (CAA) 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,” Shah said.
He urged refugees across India to apply for citizenship without fear, assuring them that the process would not affect their jobs or properties and would be granted with retrospective effect. “The law has no provision for criminal cases. Everyone is pardoned because the delay was due to government, not you,” he said.