CAA to be rolled out in Bengal, says BJP; TMC, Cong, Left stand together to oppose it 

• Adhikari said the “CAA has already been rolled out in two districts of Gujarat by the notification giving citizenship to certain minority groups who came from neighbouring countries such as Pakistan.”
• Union Minister of State for Shipping, Santanu Thakur, said, “I can only say if the CAA is implemented, it will be of great help to members of backward castes including the Matua community.” Thakur, the Bangaon Lok Sabha MP, belongs to the Matua community.
• “The BJP is making empty noises about the CAA implementation,” said West Bengal Pradesh Congress President and Berhampur MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari said on Tuesday that Citizen Amendment Act (CAA) would be rolled out in West Bengal. He claimed that its implementation has already begun in Gujarat where Indian citizenship is being granted to minorities from Pakistan.

Adhikari said the “CAA has already been rolled out in two districts of Gujarat by the notification giving citizenship to certain minority groups who came from neighbouring countries such as Pakistan.”

A day earlier, the Union government deiced to grant citizenship to members of non-Muslim minorities of Pakistan living in Anand and Mehsana districts of Gujarat under the Citizenship Act, 1955, and not the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA).

According to a notification, those Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians residing in the two districts will be allowed registration as a citizen of India under section 5 or will be granted certificate of naturalisation under section 6 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 and in accordance with the provisions of the Citizenship Rules, 2009, reported PTI.

Adhikari added, “Bengal cannot be left out of the CAA implementation process. The Matua community members and other backward castes like namasudras will get certain benefits soon. The CAA will also be rolled out in our state.”

Union Minister of State for Shipping, Santanu Thakur, said, “I can only say if the CAA is implemented, it will be of great help to members of backward castes including the Matua community.”

The CAA provides for granting Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians coming from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, but as the rules under the Act have not been framed by the government yet, no one so far could be granted citizenship under.

On the other hand, the ruling Trinamool Congress has been opposed to the contentious Act. TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said the West Bengal government will never allow the CAA to come into force in the state. He said, “The BJP will not be able to roll out the CAA in the country. Suvendu Adhikari is making tall claims ahead of the 2023 Panchayat polls as part of their effort to polarise the society.

The Congress and the CPI(M) also echoed the TMC’s stand on the issue.

“We will not allow the CAA to be implemented in the country. The BJP cannot impose any such decision without any consensus. None of the secular parties in the country will allow this to happen,” CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said.

“The BJP is making empty noises about the CAA implementation,” said West Bengal Pradesh Congress President and Berhampur MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

(With inputs from agencies)