No turning back on citizenship bill: Amit Shah

New Delhi : The Citizenship Amendment Act is not against the minorities and there is no chance of it getting withdrawn, said Union minister Amit Shah at a mega rally in Jodhpur. Speaking at the rally, he blamed the opposition parties of spreading rumours and opting for vote-bank politics.

"Opposition Mamata Banerjee, the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress are opposing the law. They are spreading falsehoods," said Amit Shah, taking the lead in the BJP's big push to dispel what it called "misconceptions" about the law across the country.

"If you have guts, come and debate with me. If not, then am willing to translate it (the law) to Italian so you can read it," he said in a dig at the Italian origins of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

"The Congress is carrying out a misinformation campaign against the Citizen Amendment Act. Youngsters were misled and they were out on streets... No matter how much lies they spread, we will work hard and we will reach out to minorities and youngsters," Shah added.

Since the passage of law, massive protests have been reported in several parts of the nation. In Uttar Pradesh around twenty-five people were killed and hundreds were injured.

Things became ugly after the Delhi Police crackdown on the students of Jamia Millia Islamia. Soon after that students across the country came united against the action by the police force in the matter. Nine Chief Ministers refused to implement the law in their states and in Kerala, the ruling party and the opposition came together to pass a resolution against it.

The BJP also planned the mass programme to raise awareness about the law. Door-to-door campaigns were also conducted for the same purpose.