Haridwar (Uttarakhand) [India], March 7 (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday announced that 200 refugees from Pakistan and Afghanistan have been granted citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act, asserting that Hindu refugees have as much right to India as the Prime Minister.

Adressing the 'Jan-Jan Ki Sarkar: Char Saal Bemisaal' event, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, 'Today, around 200 people who have come here from Pakistan and Afghanistan have been granted citizenship. When I brought the CAA law, many people, including Congress, SP, BSP, Mamata and DMK, were opposing it. I want to again say today that Hindu refugees who have come here from Afghanistan and Pakistan have the same right to the country as PM Modi does,' adding that 'appeasement politics' had previously kept them deprived of their rights.

He specifically challenged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, stating that the government would proceed with granting citizenship regardless of protests.

'Rahul Baba, no matter how much you protest against it, we will grant citizenship to such people,' he remarked.

Highlighting the divergence from the colonial era, the Home Minister also noted the transformation of India's justice system, emphasing that 'old laws have been scrapped' in favour of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

'By the year 2028, there will be complete implementation of all laws,' he declared.

He further mentioned that the four-year mark of the Dhami administration coincides with nine years of BJP governance in the state.

Shah took the opportunity to reflect on Uttarakhand's struggle for identity, praising the youth who fought for the state's culture while accusing the Congress and Samajwadi Party of 'suppressing' those efforts during the statehood movement.

He said, 'There was a time when the state was fighting for its own identity and rights. To save the culture of Uttarakhand, its youth fought. At the time, the Congress and the Samajwadi Party suppressed the youth of the state. The then BJP ministers and PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee worked to created Uttarkhand.'

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami warmly welcomed and felicitated Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah at the event, which marks the completion of four years of the state government.

On the occasion, the Chief Minister presented the Union Home Minister with a memento and honoured him with a traditional cap symbolising the rich cultural identity of the state. (ANI)