It was not related to the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, yet BJP leaders lambasted the development
It was not related to the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, yet BJP leaders lambasted the development
Decision of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Empower the collectors of two more districtsIn Gujarat – Mehsana and Anand – a debate has erupted over whether to grant citizenship certificates to members of Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Christian, Buddhist and Jain communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Citizenship (Amendment) Act In West Bengal, BJP leaders said that the CAA will be implemented in the state soon.
This was not the first time that such powers were delegated to district magistrates or collectors by the home ministry. The notification was not related to the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, which was yet to come into force, yet BJP leaders lambasted the development.
Leader of Opposition and BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday claimed that the process of implementing the CAA in the country has started and West Bengal will not remain untouched by it.
“The implementation of CAA has started. We are waiting for it. This will benefit the Matuas and Namasudras of the state,” said Mr. Adhikari. The representatives of the Matua community were demanding the implementation of the CAA in West Bengal from 2019 and even threatening that the BJP will face consequences if the Act is not implemented by the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Bangaon BJP MP and 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 the backward castes, including the Matua community.” The Union Minister is a prominent Matua leader in the state.
Meanwhile, Matua community representative and BJP MLA Asim Sarkar wondered whether the CAA was needed as religious minorities from neighboring countries could be granted citizenship with a notification using the Indian Citizenship Act of 1955.
Other political parties in West Bengal also claimed that the BJP leadership here is making hollow claims. Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha and Berhampur MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also said that the BJP was making “empty noises about the implementation of the CAA”. 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. The CPI(M) leadership echoed similar views and said the notification in Gujarat was related to the western state elections in West Bengal, with BJP leaders trying to highlight the CAA in view of rural elections due in 2023.