Amit Shah on NRC: It can’t be done in secrecy. We haven’t decided yet, need cabinet approvals

New Delhi: Home minister Amit Shah said the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) would stand any legal scrutiny and that the “government is firm like rock on its implementation”. On the National Register of Citizens (NRC), which also has been on the government’s agenda, he said no timeline has been fixed for it.

Speaking at Times Network India Economic Conclave 2019 in Mumbai on Tuesday, Shah said no Indian citizen needs to fear from the Citizenship Act or NRC. “An exercise like NRC cannot be done in secrecy. We have not decided yet and these decisions cannot be taken by me alone. They need Cabinet approvals.”

Shah said no minority community would be adversely affected by the implementation of the new law. The Citizenship Act and NRC are subjects under the Union list and states would have to implement those, he said.


Amid demands by opposition parties for the withdrawal of the law, Shah said: “There is no going back on the Citizenship Act; the government is firm like rock on its implementation.” The home minister said no action was being taken against students protesting against the Act.

However, action is being taken against those engaging in vandalism and arson during protests, he added.

He said the opposition was engaged in a false campaign over the Citizenship Act.

There are more than 400 universities in the country but protests are being witnessed only at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Lucknow University, Jamia Millia and Aligarh Muslim University, he said. “There is nothing anti-minority in the Act; the law only seeks to provide Indian citizenship to persecuted non Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan,” he added.