Will implement CAA before Lok Sabha polls, says Amit Shah
"CAA is a national law and will certainly be implemented. It will be enforced before the elections. There should be no ambiguity about it," said Shah.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Saturday (February 10) the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will be enforced before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Addressing the ET Now-Global Business summit in New Delhi, Shah said, "CAA is a national law and will certainly be implemented. It will be enforced before the elections. There should be no ambiguity about it."
Shah clarified the CAA was designed to grant citizenship, not revoke it. He refuted claims that it targeted any particular community.
'BJP will get 370 seats'
The BJP will get 370 seats and the NDA more than 400 in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and form the government for a third consecutive term under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah said.
Shah asserted that there is no suspense over the outcome of the Lok Sabha polls and even the Congress and other opposition parties have realised that they will again have to sit in the opposition benches.
"We have abrogated Article 370 (of the Constitution, which gave a special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir). So we believe that the people of the country will bless the BJP with 370 seats and the NDA with over 400 seats," Shah added.
Asked about the possibility of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), headed by Jayant Choudhary, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and some other regional parties joining the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the home minister said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) "believes in family planning but not in politics", giving an indication that more parties may join the ruling coalition.
When pressed further on the SAD, he said, "Talks are going on but nothing has been finalised." Shah said the 2024 polls will not be an election between the NDA and the INDIA opposition bloc, but between development and those who give mere slogans.
(With Agency inputs)
