"This law is to grant citizenship": Chairman of All India Sufi Sajjadanshin Council on CAA
Ajmer (Rajasthan) [India], March 14 (ANI): Chairman of the All India Sufi Sajjadanshin Council and successor of the spiritual head of Ajmer Dargah, Syed Naseeruddin Chishti, slammed the opposition for opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and said that the act is all about giving "citizenship" to those who are persecuted on religious grounds in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Chishti said that the ones who are opposing the act are just doing it for the sake of political benefits. "This law is to grant citizenship, and it has no provision to take away anyone’s citizenship. Those who are opposing are just for the sake of political benefits," he said. He further appealed to the people of the Muslim community to not fall into the trap of such persons. "I appeal to all the people of the country, especially the Muslims, to don’t fall into the trap. I want to ask the people who want to get political benefits to stop this. Muslims want jobs and development, and hence Muslims are standing firm with the country and the government," the Chairman of the All India Sufi Sajjadanshin Council said. Earlier, Union Home Minister Amit Shah took on opposition leaders Asaduddin Owaisi and Mamata Banerjee for their claims that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act was anti-Muslim and said that the law can’t be seen in isolation as it carries a history with itself. Speaking to ANI, Amit Shah also questioned West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee for alleging that the citizenship of minorities would be taken away due to the CAA. "I am requesting Mamata ji, that there are several platforms to do politics, but please don’t harm Bengali Hindus coming from Bangaldesh. I challenge Mamata publically to tell one such clause that has the provision of taking away citizenship of any Indian. She intends to create differences between Hindus and Muslims to consolidate the vote bank. CAA has to be done. If she wants to do anything stop infiltration, but she is not cooperating" Amit Shah said. On March 11, the Union Home Ministry notified rules for the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), days ahead of the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections scheduled. CAA aims to provide Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants — including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians — who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and arrived in India before December 31, 2014. (ANI)