PATNA: Reacting to home minister Amit Shah’s remark that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) will be implemented after the Covid-19 pandemic subsides, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar said on Friday such a decision is for the Centre to make and that the Bihar government was more concerned about safeguarding people from the novel coronavirus.

“The biggest issue at the moment is rise in Covid cases. We are more concerned about the safety of people,” Nitish said.

Shah, who is on a two-day visit to West Bengal, had made the CAA remark in New Jalpaiguri on Thursday. He had also accused Trinamool Congress of spreading rumours about non-enforcement of the CAA in West Bengal.

While campaigning for JD (U) candidates during the 2020 Bihar assembly election in Seemanchal region, Nitish, in a bid to allay fears among the minorities, had said no one would be thrown out of the country due to CAA implementation.

The CAA Bill was passed by Parliament in 2019, triggering violent protests across the country by the minority communities. The bill, which amended the Citizenship Act of 1955, makes Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Christian, and Parsi migrants who entered India from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh before December 31, 2014 eligible for Indian citizenship, but it excludes Muslims.