Union Minister Shantanu Thakur has claimed that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) would be implemented across India within the next seven days, India Today reported on Monday. “I can guarantee that in the next seven days, not just in West Bengal, but the CAA will be implemented across India,” Thakur said while addressing a public gathering in Kakdwip in South 24 Parganas in West Bengal.
However, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the BJP wants votes by “scaring everyone”. “They (BJP) are shouting CAA, this is politics. We have given citizenship to everyone (and) they (people of border areas) are getting everything. They are citizens, which is why they are allowed to vote,” she said in Cooch Behar.
Also read: CAA final draft likely to be completed by March 30, 2024, says Union Minister Ajay Mishra
Referring to CAA, the chief minister also asked the people of border regions not to accept the “identity cards” offered by the BJP. “Don’t take the fake card. Tell them we have a voter ID card and an Aadhaar card. If you accept it, you will fall under NRC (National Register of Citizens),” Banerjee said.
The Centre has brought in the CAA to grant citizenship to persons belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities on grounds of religious persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. However, Mamata Banerjee and some other opposition parties have been opposing the law, saying it discriminates against Muslims.
Parliament passed the CAA in December 2019 but the Centra has yet to notify the law. Last month, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the Centre would implement the CAA and “no one can stop it”. Addressing a rally at Kolkata’s iconic Esplanade, Amit Shah launched scathing attacks against Mamata Banerjee on the issues of infiltration, corruption, political violence, and appeasement. He urged people to dethrone her government from Bengal and elect BJP in the 2026 Assembly elections.
Earlier this month, news agency PTI reported that the CAA rules were ready with the Centre and would be notified “much before” the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections. An official told the news agency that the online portal for the CAA was also in place and the entire process would be digital. “The applicants will have to declare the year when they entered India without travel documents. No document will be sought from the applicants,” the official told PTI.
(With inputs from Anupam Mishra, Indrajit Kundu, Rittick Mondal)
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