New Delhi: Following the notification of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019, on Monday, the PM Narendra Modi-led NDA government has initiated granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who came to India till December 31, 2014. These include Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians.

Commenting on the historic move, Union Home Minister Amit Shah in an interview with news agency ANI affirmed that the CAA will never be taken back

"This is our sovereign right to ensure Indian citizenship in our country, we will never compromise on it and CAA will never be taken back," Amit Shah said.

While several persecuted minorities are celebrating the government’s decision, opposition leaders from the INDI alliance have seen red over the implementation of the landmark law.

Several INDI alliance leaders have warned that CAA will not be implemented in states where opposition parties have a government, such as West Bengal and Kerala.

Speaking on Mamata Banerjee’s remark on CAA, Amit Shah said, “The day is not far when BJP will come to power there (West Bengal) and will stop infiltration. If you do this kind of politics and with such an important national security issue, you allow infiltration by doing appeasement politics and oppose the refugees from getting citizenship, then people will not be with you.”

“Mamata Banerjee does not know the difference between a person taking refuge and an infiltrator,” he added.

On March 11, the Union Home Ministry notified rules for the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

The CAA, introduced by the Narendra Modi government and passed by Parliament in 2019, aims to confer Indian citizenship to persecuted nonMuslim migrants--including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians--who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and arrived in India before December 31, 2014.