Union Home Minister Amit Shah today granted Indian citizenship to 188 Pakistani Hindus in Ahmedabad under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), marking the first instance of citizenship being conferred in Gujarat.

Shah stated, "I congratulate these families who got citizenship. I am even happier that this is happening in Gujarat. CAA is an initiative to give people their rights and justice. The Congress party never gave people their rights until 2014. Lakhs and crores of people kept waiting for their rights, but they never got justice under the INDIA bloc."

Notably, the Gujarat government has granted Indian citizenship to 1,167 people in Ahmedabad district under CAA, so far.

HM Shah also sought to dispel concerns among the Muslim community, clarifying, “I want to make it clear for my Muslim brothers and sisters that this is not to take anyone’s citizenship but to give them citizenship. Earlier, many people were provoked against this law. No one will have to give up their citizenship. Some people just want to mislead the larger public. Your jobs, house, and citizenship are safe. This law is only to give you justice.”

In addition to the citizenship ceremony, Amit Shah launched development projects worth approximately ₹1,000 crore in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar. He also inaugurated the Oxygen Park of Amdavad Municipal Corporation (AMC) in the Bodakdev area of the city.

(This story was taken from a syndicated feed and was only edited for style by Gujarat Samachar Digital staff)