Amit Shah (file photo)

JODHPUR: Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday said the Centre was steadfast in implementing Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and “would not budge an inch” even if the entire opposition united against the NDA government on this issue.

Launching BJP’s nationwide awareness campaign to dispel misunderstandings on CAA, Shah told a rally which was attended by about 4,000 Hindu refugees from Pakistan : “Whatever the opposition does to spread misinformation about the Act, you need not fear. We will not move an inch from our position on CAA. Nobody can stop your citizenship.”

Shah reiterated that CAA is not a threat to the existing citizens of India. “CAA is for granting citizenship, not for cancelling the existing ones. This is for people like you, who had to flee Pakistan because of atrocities or forced conversions,” he said.

He accused opposition parties of misleading Muslims on CAA and wondered whether former Congress president Rahul Gandhi had read the new law. “Rahul Baba, if you have read CAA, then come to discuss it anywhere. And if you have not read it, I will translate it in Italian and send the copy for you to read it.”

Shah said there was no bigger violation of human rights than the persecution of the religious minorities in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan . “These refugees are our own people. How can anyone object to citizenship being granted to them?” he said while singling out netas like Rahul, Arvind Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee in his attack on the opposition.

He said beginning Saturday, BJP will take out 500 rallies across the country and reach out to three crore people to create awareness against the “misinformation” spread by the opposition on CAA. “If they (opposition parties) are protesting against the Act and misguiding people, we will also go to the masses with our side about this Act.”

Bikaner, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Barmer districts are home to an estimated five lakh Hindu migrants who have been fleeing Pakistan since 1971. While many of them have got citizenship before CAA came into force, about 8,000 Hindu refugees are eligible for citizenship under the new law.

