PATNA: Reacting to Union home minister Amit Shah's remark that Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will be implemented after Covid-19 pandemic subsides, chief minister Nitish Kumar on Friday said it's the Centre's discretion and the Bihar government was more concerned about safeguarding people from coronavirus.
"The biggest issue at the moment is rise in Covid cases. We are more concerned about safety of people from Covid," Nitish said while reacting to Shah's remark on CAA in New Jalpaiguri on Thursday.
Shah, who is on a two-day visit to West Bengal, had on Thursday said the CAA would be enforced as soon as the Covid pandemic gets over. He had also accused the Trinamool Congress of spreading rumours of non-enforcement of CAA in West Bengal.
While campaigning for the JD(U) candidates during the 2020 Bihar assembly election in the Muslim-dominated Seemanchal region, Nitish, in a bid to allay fears among minorities, had categorically said no one would be thrown out of the country due to implementation of the CAA.
The CAA Bill was passed by Parliament in 2019, triggering violent protests across the country by the minority communities. The Bill, which amended the Citizenship Act, 1955, makes Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Christian, and Parsi migrants who entered India from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh eligible for Indian citizenship. But it debars Muslims who came to India from these countries from obtaining Indian citizenship.
