Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday claimed that the process of implementing CAA in the country has started and West Bengal will not remain untouched by it.
His remarks come a day after the Center decided to grant Indian citizenship to minorities, mostly from Pakistan, who have migrated to India, and are currently residing in two districts of Gujarat under the Citizenship Act, 1955 and not the Citizenship Amendment Act. Act, 2019. (CAA).
According to the notification of the Union Home Ministry, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians residing in Anand and Mehsana districts of Gujarat will be allowed to register as citizens of India.
Responding to a question on the Centre’s notification, the official said, “The CAA has already been implemented in two districts of Gujarat by a notification granting citizenship to certain minority groups from neighboring countries like Pakistan.”
“Bengal cannot be left out of the CAA implementation process. Members of the Matua community and other backward castes like Namasudra will soon get some benefits. CAA will also be implemented in our state,” the Nandigram MLA said.
BJP MLA Ashim Sarkar, however, sang a different tune wondering what was the need for the Citizenship Act in 2019 if citizenship was granted under the 1955 Act.
“It is good that refugees in two districts of Gujarat are getting citizenship under the 1955 Act. But my question is, then what was the need to pass a new law in 2019? I think there should be a clarification about when CAA will be implemented in the country,” the government said.
Narendra Modi Government wants to give Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan – Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians – who came here India As of 31 December 2014.
CAA was passed by Parliament in 2019 but the law is yet to be implemented as rules have not been framed under it.
A few months ago, a BJP legislator from the Matua community-dominated Haringhata constituency had exuded confidence that the CAA would be implemented before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, but also cautioned that the delay in implementing the law could dent the party’s support base. will suffer. among refugees.
Union Minister of State for Shipping Shantanu Thakur said, “All I can say is that if the CAA is implemented, it will be of great help to the members of backward castes including the Matua community.” Notably, Thakur, the Bangaon Lok Sabha MP, hails from the Matua community.
About three million Matuas live in West Bengal, and the community can influence the results of at least five Lok Sabha seats and about 50 assembly constituencies in Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas districts.
Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said that the ruling party in West Bengal will never allow the CAA to be implemented in the state.
“BJP will not be able to implement CAA in the country. Suvendu Adhikari is making tall claims ahead of the 2023 panchayat elections as part of his attempt to polarize the society.
Both Congress and CPI(M) also echoed TMC’s stand on the issue.
We will not allow CAA to be implemented in the country. BJP cannot impose such a decision without consensus. No secular party in the country will allow this to happen,” said CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty.
West Bengal Pradesh Congress President and Berhampur MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also said that the BJP is making “empty noises about the implementation of the CAA”.
“The Congress stands for unity and harmony and not for dividing the society on religious lines,” he said.
The promise to implement the controversial CAA has been a major election issue of the BJP in the last Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. The leaders of the saffron party consider this to be a laudable factor that led to the rise of the BJP in Bengal.
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