The Congress on Tuesday promptly accepted home minister Amit Shah’s challenge for a public debate on the citizenship controversy, asserting that the real picture must come out.

Reacting to Shah’s dare in Lucknow in the morning, Congress spokesperson Kapil Sibal said at a news conference: “We are ready for the debate. The Prime Minister or the home minister should decide the time and venue. The home minister accused the Opposition of spreading rumours and misconceptions. The government is spreading falsehood, they are speaking untruths.”

Direct debate has never been part of Indian politics although such dares are now common. Rahul Gandhi dared the Prime Minister to a public debate in the run-up to the 2019 parliamentary election but no such interaction took place.

The citizenship issue has been debated in Parliament but it threw up more questions than answers. Even outside, the government has accused the Opposition of spreading falsehood instead of addressing genuine concerns.

Arguing that the government had struck fear among millions of people, Sibal said: “What is the priority of this government? To lift people out of poverty or destroy their lives? The poor will be the worst hit as they don’t have documents to prove citizenship. The home minister should ponder over the cost of its obstinacy. What’s the cost, people’s lives? Twenty-eight people have been killed in Uttar Pradesh alone.”

The home minister on Tuesday said CAA will not be withdrawn no matter how intense the protests.

Asserting that religion had been inserted into the legal framework for citizenship for the first time in India, Sibal who is also a top constitutional expert said: “The government’s position rests on nine lies. The lies are: 1. CAA not discriminatory. 2. CAA has nothing to do with NRC. 3. No discussion on NRC in the government. 4. NRC not legalised. 5. NRC process yet to start. 6. NPR has nothing to do with NRC. 7. No Indian has to fear. 8. No detention centre as yet. 9. No force used on demonstrators.”

Sibal explained: “The Constitution and the Citizenship Act 1955 clearly laid down criteria for granting citizenship. Religion wasn’t a factor but now it has been made a basis for granting citizenship. While the home minister asserted on several occasions that CAA and NRC are linked, the presidential speech in June 2019 to the joint session of Parliament clearly said NRC would be implemented on priority basis. Also, the NRC was legalised/notified in 2003 itself and clause 14(a) suggests NRC is already a law.”

The former Union minister pointed out that the annual report of the home ministry said that NPR was the first step of the NRC, adding that NRC cannot be done without NPR. He recalled that the gazette notification of July 31, 2019, that said NPR will be updated had also stated that it will be done “in pursuance of sub-rule (4) of Rule 3” of the above mentioned citizenship rules. While Rule 3 is the concept of NRC, its sub-rule (4) provides for “Preparation of the National Register of Indian Citizens”.

Pointing to the Assam experience, he countered the government’s argument that no Indian has to fear anything and said the home minister’s claim was “a fraud on the people.”

Senior Congress leader and former Union minister P. Chidambaram tweeted: “HM has dared the Opposition to debate CAA. Is that not what the Opposition, jurists, academics, writers, artists, students and youth have been doing since Dec 12? I had suggested that the PM should select five of the most articulate critics and hold a Q&A session with them. Why doesn’t the PM/Government accept the suggestion? Let five critics of CAA-NPR debate the PM. Let the event be televised live. And let the people draw their own conclusions.”