'At any forum and at any place': Mayawati accepts Amit Shah's CAA debate challenge

Since the implementation of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, opposition leaders and critics have claimed that the bill discriminates on the grounds of religion.

However, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has been steadfast in maintaining his stance that the bill is a necessity for progress, and on January 21, challenged opposition leaders to a public debate over the act.

Just a day after Shah issued the challenge, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati said her party accepts the challenge and is ready for any debate "at any forum and at any place".

आति-विवादित CAA/NRC/NPR के खिलाफ पूरे देश में खासकर युवा व महिलाओं के संगठित होकर संघर्ष व आन्दोलित हो जाने से परेशान केन्द्र सरकार द्वारा लखनऊ की रैली में विपक्ष को इस मुद्दे पर बहस करने की चुनौती को BSP किसी भी मंच पर व कहीं भी स्वीकार करने को तैयार है।

— Mayawati (@Mayawati) January 22, 2020

Mayawati's tweet reads, "The government, disturbed by protests against the controversial CAA/NRC/NPR, by the entire country, especially the youth and women, has challenged the Opposition to debate on the matter. The BSP accepts the challenge to debate on it at any forum and at any place."

Shah issued the challenge to politicians from opposition parties at a pro-C-AA rally in Lucknow on January 21. Meanwhile, SP president Akhilesh Yadav said that he would be open to any debate with the BJP so long as it tackled issues of development.

Amit Shah’s proposal for an open debate comes several weeks after protesters have asked both him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to talk to them and explain the merits of the act. Women of Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh have been protesting for over a month now and have also invited the Prime Minister to tea.