Citizenship of any Muslim or minority will not be taken away through CAA: Amit Shah reiterates in Odisha

The Citizenship of any Muslim or any other minority community will not be taken away under the Amendment Act, Union Home Minister Amit Shah assured on Friday while accusing the opposition parties of spreading false information.

"Why is opposition lying about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)? I, here again, repeat that citizenship of any Muslim or minority will not be taken away through CAA," Shah said at a rally in Odisha.

"It is an Act to give citizenship not to take it away," Shah added.

Also read: Despite protests, Citizenship Amendment Act will not be withdrawn, says Amit Shah

The Home Minister's latest comments come days after 42 people lost their lives in Delhi in communal riots. The riots had erupted after rival groups clashed in national capital's northeast district over the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act.

The violence led to the incidents of vandalism and arson in which many people lost their homes.

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The Citizenship Amendment bill sailed through both houses of Parliament earlier this month and became a law after the getting assent of President Ram Nath Kovind. Since the enactment of the Act, anti-CAA protests have erupted in parts of the country during which several clashes between police and protesters have taken place.

The bill, now an Act, seeks to grant citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.

The Act came into effect on January 10 despite the protests which are still underway in many parts of the country.