Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday addressed a programme titled ‘Jan-Jan Ki Sarkar: Char Saal Bemisaal’ in Uttarakhand, where he spoke about the state’s long struggle for identity and rights while highlighting the achievements of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
Recalling the Uttarakhand statehood movement, Shah said the youth of the region had bravely taken to the streets to protect their culture and heritage. However, he alleged that they faced suppression from political parties such as the Congress and the Samajwadi Party during that period.
Shah credited former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for officially creating Uttarakhand, calling him the leader who fulfilled the long-standing aspirations of the people of the hill state.
“Today, the Dhami ji's government is completing four years, and the BJP government is also completing nine years. Through this government, I have come to tell the people of Uttarakhand that 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 that time, the Congress party and Samajwadi Party suppressed the youth of the state,” Shah said during his address.
During the event, the Home Minister announced several development initiatives for the state, including projects worth ₹1,132 crore that are set to be inaugurated. He also highlighted major legal reforms introduced by the central government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Shah said the government has scrapped several colonial-era laws and replaced them with the new criminal code, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which is expected to be fully implemented across the country by 2028.
The Home Minister also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to granting citizenship to refugees through the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). He said around 200 people from Pakistan and Afghanistan living in Uttarakhand had already been granted Indian citizenship.
“Today, around 200 people who have come here from Pakistan and Afghanistan have been granted citizenship. When I brought the CAA law, many parties including Congress, SP, BSP, Mamata and DMK opposed it. Hindu refugees from Afghanistan and Pakistan have the same right to this country as PM Modi does. Due to appeasement politics, they were kept deprived of citizenship,” Shah said.
Taking a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, he added that protests against the law would not stop the government from granting citizenship to eligible refugees.
Earlier in the programme, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami spoke about the significance of the legal and policy changes brought by the central government.
Dhami said the implementation of the CAA was a historic step toward realizing the vision of “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat”, adding that Hindu refugees who had been neglected for years were now receiving respect and security.
“It is the result of your firm resolve that today the repressive British laws with a mindset of slavery are being abolished, and through new laws including the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the justice system has been made in accordance with Indian ethos, where justice, not punishment, is important,” the chief minister said.
The event marked the completion of four years of the Dhami-led government in Uttarakhand and highlighted the BJP’s development agenda and policy initiatives in the state.
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