The West Bengal Chief Minister has slammed the Centre for raking up the issue of the possible implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act ahead of the Gujarat assembly election.
KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister has yet again warned the Narendra Modi government at the Centre that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) will not be implemented in her state. The West Bengal Chief Minister also slammed the Centre for raking up the issue of the possible implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act ahead of the Gujarat assembly election.
“Stop all these politics. They (BJP) are doing it because there are elections in Gujarat. We will not let them implement it. To us, all are citizens (of India). We are against this,” Banerjee told reporters at the Kolkata airport before leaving for Chennai.
“I would say that elections are not that important, politics are not that important, people’s lives are more important,” she added. Reacting sharply to her remarks, Union Minister of State for Home Nisith Pramanik asserted that the CAA will be gradually implemented across the country.
“The CAA is for the deprived and oppressed Hindus and others. It will be implemented not only in Gujarat but also gradually all over India,” the Union Minister said.
The Centre had on Monday decided to grant Indian citizenship to minorities mostly from Pakistan, who have migrated to India, and are currently living in two districts of Gujarat, under the Citizenship Act, 1955, and not the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA).
The Union Home Ministry, under the 1955 Citizenship Act, empowered district collectors of Mehsana and Anand to grant citizenship certificates to members of Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Christian, Buddhist and Jain communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Gujarat assembly has passed a majority resolution supporting this move.
The issue of CAA has been a major flashpoint in Bengal politics with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declaring that it will not be implemented in the state. The TMC-ruled state had witnessed violent protests and arson against the CAA and the proposed nationwide implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) earlier this month.
