In his first public rally after the Citizenship (Amendment) Act cleared the Parliament+ hurdle, Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday hinted that “some changes” could be made in the law’s provisions to address the concerns of the northeastern states.

“Conrad Sangma (Meghalaya chief minister) and his ministers met me on Friday and informed me about the problems they are facing... I tried to make them understand that there is no issue. When they insisted some changes need to be made to the law, I asked them to meet me after Christmas. I have assured them we will hold constructive discussions on the matter and come up with solutions to Meghalaya’s problems,” Shah said at a rally in Giridih.

Later in the day, at another rally in Dhanbad, Shah said, “When we tabled the CAB, Congress seemed to have got a stomach ache. For years, people who faced religious persecution in other countries were living like refugees. Shouldn’t they be made citizens? Congress says we are anti-Muslim… We brought in CAB and they instigated violence in the northeastern states.”

The home minister also accused Congress of indulging in Hindu-Muslim politics, encouraging Naxalism, and failing to deal with terrorism during its tenure at the Centre. Shah blamed the past Congress governments for compromising on national security. He added that BJP removed Articles 370 and 35A and now J&K is an inseparable part of the nation.

Shah addressed three election rallies at Giridih, Baghmara and Deoghar seats in Jharkhand where Assembly elections are currently being conducted.

Source: Times of India

BDST: 1250 HRS, DEC 15, 2019
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