Rejecting the news of issuing notification of CAA rules before the Lok Sabha elections, West Bengal’s ruling party Trinamool Congress said that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will not be implemented in the state. He alleged that such speculations are being made with the intention of misleading people before the parliamentary elections. A senior government official had said on Tuesday that the rules of the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 will be notified ‘well before’ the announcement of Lok Sabha elections. Under the CAA brought by the Narendra Modi government, Indian citizenship will be given to those non-Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan – Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians who came to India till December 31, 2014 due to persecution.
CAA will not be implemented in Bengal: Minister Shashi Panja
Trinamool minister Shashi Panja firmly put forward the party’s stand, saying, ‘Our party supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said that CAA will not be implemented in West Bengal, those who are making such a promise before the Lok Sabha elections, They are trying to mislead people. He said, ‘The central government has passed the law, but they have not been able to make rules yet. This is nothing but an attempt to fool the public before the Lok Sabha elections. Referring to the concern raised by Mamata Banerjee regarding citizenship in border areas, Shashi Panja said that why would people who already have citizenship need to apply again? CAA will never be implemented in Bengal.
BJP’s claim: CAA will be implemented in any case
On Shashi Panja’s statement, state BJP spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya accused Trinamool Congress of opposing CAA due to vote bank politics. Last week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had reiterated that the implementation of CAA is inevitable, because it is the law of the country. During a BJP meeting in Kolkata, Amit Shah had accused Mamata Banerjee of misleading people on this issue. In this regard, Samik Bhattacharya said that CAA has been passed in the Parliament, so now no one can stop it from being implemented.