STATE TIMES NEWS
NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that individuals belonging to both the Hindu and Muslim communities in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir are integral to our nation.
His statement comes after the recent implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019.
Speaking at India Today Conclave 2024, Amit Shah said Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) “is a part of India”. He further said both “Muslims and Hindus in POK are part of India”.
“Wahan ke Muslims bhi hamare hain, wahan ke Hindus bhi Hamare hain (both Muslims and Hindus of POK are part of India),” Shah said.
Shah expressed his regret over the sectarian division that occurred during the partition of 1947, labeling it as regrettable. He suggested that the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, serves as a lifeline for minorities who have endured persecution in the neighboring nations.
“At the time of independence, there were 23 per cent of Hindus in Pakistan. Today, there are 2.7 per cent. Where did they go? What happened to them? I will tell you, that minor girls were forced into marriage for religious conversion, they faced atrocities. Either they migrated to India. They took refuge in India to save the modesty of their mothers, why should we not give them nationality?” Shah replied to a query about why the Muslim community has been ejected from the scope of CAA.
“The three countries (Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh) which we have included in the CAA are declared Islamic countries,” the Union Home Minister said.
On Election Commission making public data received from the State Bank of India (SBI) on electoral bonds, Union Home Minister said the government’s aim behind the scheme was to combat black money.
Shah said he and the BJP believed the electoral bonds scheme brought greater transparency in political funding.
“Government brought bonds to combat the menace of black money… it brings transparency in the funding system,” he said.
Even as he stated that he respects the ruling of the Supreme Court that struck down the Narendra Modi government’s 2018 electoral bonds scheme of anonymous political funding, Amit Shah said he feared that the menace of black money could return. Shah added that he believed instead of scrapping it, the modalities of the electoral bonds scheme should be improved.
