New Delhi: Ruling out a rethink on CAA and Article 370, PM Modi on Sunday leaned on his ‘national interest’ motif to assert that his government remains firm on the steps that have been taken, despite pressure from all sides.
"Be it the scrapping of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir or the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the country waited for these decisions for years," he told a public meeting in his Lok Sabha constituency.
‘‘Duniya bhar ke saarey dabaon ke bawjood, inn faislon par hum qayam hain, qayam rahengey,’’ he added.
The assertion came even as the Delhi Police refused permission to more than 5,000 protesters of Shaheen Bagh to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his residence.
The protesting women decided to talk to Shah after his open invitation at the Times Now Summit on Thursday. Anyone with doubts over the CAA could seek an appointment from his office and he would be willing to meet them within the next three days, he had said.
The protestors reverted to their sit-in ‘dhrana’ after they rebuffed by the police. PM Modi, who was invited for Kejriwal’s oath taking ceremony in the national capital, skipped the event and proceeded to Varanasi as per his prior commitment, where he unveiled a 63-ft-tall statue of RSS ideologue Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya.
The prime minister earlier launched 50 projects worth Rs 1,254 crore in his Lok Sabha constituency. He also flagged off IRCTC's 'Maha Kaal Express' through video link during his day-long visit. It will be the first over-night private train in the country to connect three Jyotirling pilgrimage centres of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, and Ujjain and Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh.
