The Citizenship Act, or CAA, will not be revoked, Union home minister Amit Shah said at a rally in Lucknow on Tuesday, while challenging opposition leaders to a debate on the legislation he piloted in both houses of Parliament.

Protests against the law are continuing across the country, and it has also been legally challenged in the Supreme Court by several petitioners, including the state of Kerala. The southern state and Punjab have also moved resolutions against CAA.

Shah also met Hindu and other minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who were attending his rally. That included a group of Sikhs whom Shah greeted with “Jo bole so nihaal, Sat Sri akaal”, the traditional greeting of the community, evoking an enthusiastic response from them.

In the course of his speech, Shah said a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya would be a reality within three months, a reference to the fact that the trust in charge of building the temple will be in place by then. On November 9, the Supreme Court ended a decades-long dispute by ruling in favour of a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.

Much of the home minister’s speech was devoted to attacking opponents of the CAA. He accused opposition parties of working against the interests of India, singling out Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati and the Congress’ Rahul Gandhi.

The crowd responded, and Shah said, “Now your act has strengthened Modi ji.” The protests against CAA do not worry the government, Shah said.