Amid protests across the country over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday compared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to God, for enabling Indian citizenship for persecuted minorities.

"Bhagwan ne jeewan diya, maa ne janam diya, lekin Narendra Modiji ne fir se zindagi di hai" (God gave life, mother gave birth, Narendra Modi has given a new lease of life),” the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said at a press conference in Jaipur on the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Moreover, Chouhan accused Congress of misleading people and spreading confusion among people over the Act. Directly attacking the acting Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Chouhan said, "Sonia Gandhi should have spoken during the debate in Parliament before the passage of the Bill, instead of putting out a televised video message about the issue".

Later while interacting with media, Chouhan ruled out links between anti-CAA protests and BJP's performance in the assembly elections that recently took place in Jharkhand. "Elections are fought on the issues in the state instead of such things", Chouhan said.