Published 16:01 IST, March 1st 2020
Amit Shah says 'won't stop unless all refugees are granted citizenship' in Kolkata rally
Amit Shah, addressing a rally in Kolkata, also exuded confidence that the saffron party, BJP, will form the next government in Bengal with a two-third majority.
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Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday asserted that the Narendra Modi government will not stop until and unless all refugees in the country are granted citizenship under the CAA. Amit Shah, addressing a rally in Kolkata, also exuded confidence that the saffron party, BJP, will form the next government in Bengal with a two-third majority after the 2021 assembly polls.
Accusing opposition parties, including the TMC, of misguiding the refugees and minorities, Shah said not a single person will lose citizenship as a result of the CAA. "The opposition is terrorising minorities... I assure every person from the minority community that CAA only provides citizenship, does not take it away. It won't affect your citizenship," the home minister said.
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"We will not stop until and unless all the refugees are granted citizenship," he added. Shah also launched the BJP's 'Aar Noi Annay' (no more injustice) campaign in West Bengal at the rally.
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Amid the still-raging controversy over Union Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur's video in which he had said 'Desh ke gaddaron ko...' and the rally crowd had finished '...goli maron', BJP workers in Kolkata were heard raising the same slogans. Ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's rally, BJP workers held a march at Shahid Minar in which they were heard raising 'Shoot the traitors' slogans. The ANI visuals also show the workers holding BJP flags and them wearing caps that had BJP written on them and. Moreover, the workers shouted the slogans even as Kolkata Police was present at the spot.
Amit Shah's Kolkata visit
As Home Minister Amit Shah landed in Kolkata to address a pro-CAA rally on Sunday, he was welcomed with Students' Federation of India (SFI) members raising black flags and black balloons near the airport. Slogans of 'Amit Shah, go back' are also heard being raised as police attempt to contain the protestors. Sources report that Shah has just landed in Kolkata and is scheduled to inaugurate a new building of the National Security Guards (NSG) at Rajarhat and hold closed-door meetings with state BJP leadership along with Nadda.
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Earlier on Saturday, BJP sources said that Shah will be on a day-long visit to Kolkata and address a rally to "clear the confusion" surrounding the amended Citizenship Act, according to PTI. He is scheduled to address the rally at the Shaheed Minar Ground, where the state unit of the BJP will felicitate him for the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Parliament in the presence of BJP national president J P Nadda, they said. He is also likely to visit the famed Kalighat temple in the city during his visit, a source said.
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(With PTI inputs)
16:01 IST, March 1st 2020