‘Those who've illegally migrated will have to go'

IN HIS first interview since the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) by Parliament, followed by Presidential assent, Home Minister Amit Shah broke his silence on the controversial law that has sparked massive protests across the country, especially in university campuses.

- Poulomi Saha

Speaking at Agenda Aaj Tak in New Delhi, Shah defended the police action at the Capital’s Jamia Millia Islamia campus. “If rioters riot, should the police let them carry on?” he asked.

“If stone pelting happens from inside the university, buses are torched, and the police doesn’t do anything, then the police wouldn’t be doing its duty. Curbing violence is their ‘dharma’,” the Home Minister stated.

“These protests are happening because students haven’t read the Citizenship Amendment Act properly. I appeal to them today to study it properly and then discuss it with the government. We are ready to answer. Only then things will cool down.”

Speaking on the violent protests witnessed in East Delhi’s Seelampur and Jafrabad on Tuesday, Amit Shah blamed the opposition parties for spreading rumours. “I want to tell everyone from this forum today that nobody will be harmed by this Act. An Act can’t take away citizenship; it only grants citizenship. Muslims don’t have to worry,” he assured.

“Those who’ve illegally migrated to India will have to go. They should accept on their own they made a mistake and ask to be sent back. They impact the livelihoods of both Hindus and Muslims in the country. I called them “termites” in that context,” Shah said.

The Home Minister accused the Congress for laying the foundation for the NRC (through the Assam Accord of 1985) and CAA (the Nehru-Liaquat pact of 1950) and then abdicating responsibility.