Amid rising protests over the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Union Home Minister Amit Shah has reiterated that there was no going back on the promise of implementing provisions of the new law. In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments, Shah has said the protests were a result of the misinformation being spread by the Congress Party.
“This (CAA) will not be rolled back. There is not even a minute possibility…The government and I are rock solid on the view that there is no going back from this,” Shah said while speaking in an interview with Times Now channel during the India Economic Conclave on Tuesday. He said allegations that the Act was “dictatorial” was unfair because the Bill was passed by Parliament, after due debates and with a convincing majority in both the Houses.
Protests have broken out across several parts of the country, particularly the northeast and in metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, over provisions of the Act which opposition and critics have termed as being discriminatory to Muslims.
In the national capital, some buses and two police vehicles were set on fire in a clash between students and police at New Friends’ Colony near Jamia University during a demonstration against the newly-minted CAA. Many were injured in the clashes. The students’ agitation that started at Jamia has now spread to around 20 universities, including Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, and Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, amid fears that the nationwide unrest could hurt investor sentiment.
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