2016, approximately half of the applications for religious conversion in Gujarat were declined by the local government. In 2014, EC barred Shah from conducting any public processions, marches, gatherings and roadshows in Uttar Pradesh due to speeches that were made to outrage the religious feelings and beliefs of different classes. In 2018, Shah said: "Infiltrators are like termites in the soil of Bengal," and regarding the solution of this, stated: "A Bharatiya Janata Party government will pick up infiltrators one by one and throw them into the Bay of Bengal." In December 2019, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) asked the US administration to consider imposing sanctions against Shah if the Indian parliament passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. USCIRF in its statement said: "CAB is a dangerous turn in the wrong direction; it runs counter to India's rich history of secular pluralism and the Indian Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law regardless of faith." The commission said that the CAB "enshrines a pathway to citizenship for immigrants that specifically excludes Muslims, setting a legal criterion for citizenship based on religion". The external affairs ministry issued a counter-statement in response to USCIRF by saying it was not based on facts and the bill was to grant citizenship to persecuted religious minorities who arrived in India and does not aim to strip citizenship. Personal life Shah is married to Sonal Shah and the couple have a son named Jay. Shah's mother died from an illness on 8 June 2010. People close to Shah have described him as someone who does not like to socialise much. He has six sisters, two of whom live in Chicago. In September 2019, he was operated for lipoma at the backside of his neck. On 2 August 2020, Shah tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted to the hospital. References Further reading External links |- |- |- 1964 births Gujarati people Gujarat University alumni Living people Politicians from Ahmedabad Politicians from Mumbai Presidents of Bharatiya Janata Party Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Gujarat Rajya Sabha members from Gujarat Indian Vaishnavites India MPs 2019–present National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Narendra Modi ministry Members of the Cabinet of India Ministers of Internal Affairs of India Indian prisoners and detainees Gujarat MLAs 1998–2002 Gujarat MLAs 2002–2007 Gujarat MLAs 2007–2012 Gujarat MLAs 2012–2017 Prisoners and detainees of India