Kolkata: A political slugfest has kicked off in Bengal after Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said that CAA would soon be implemented in the state.
After the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) decided to grant citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan who are currently residing in Mehsana and Anand districts in Gujarat, Adhikari said that implementation will also be done in Bengal.
"The process of implementation of CAA has almost started and it is likely to be launched in Bengal. The Matuas and Namasudras will benefit from the implementation of CAA. It has been passed in both the Houses and since the implementation has started, it seems that the central government has chalked out the rules," said Adhikari.
Soon after Adhikari announced that CAA would be implemented in Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress, along with the CPI (M) and Congress, began opposing the BJP-led central government.
TMC Rajya Sabha MP Shantanu Sen claims that it is a ploy of the BJP ahead of the Gujarat polls.
"It is now clear why the polls in Gujarat have been deferred. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has made it clear that those who cast votes are the citizens of this country," said Sen.
The CAA is to cover up the Morbi bridge collapse incident
Senior CPI (M) leader Sujan Chakraborty alleged that in order to ‘cover up’ the Morbi bridge incident, the BJP is trying to divert attention.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, state Congress president, claimed that the "NRC" and "CAA" are "toys" in the hands of the BJP ahead of the elections.
However, in support of the MHA's announcement, BJP national vice president Dilip Ghosh stated that the BJP has chosen to grant citizenship to those who were minorities in three countries: Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.
It may be noted that according to the notification of MHA, under the Citizenship Act, 1955, citizenship will be given.
"In exercise of the powers conferred by section 16 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 (57 of 1955), the central government hereby directs that powers exercisable by it, for registration as a citizen of India under section 5, or for grant of a certificate of naturalisation under section 6, of the Citizenship Act, 1955," read part of the notification.
Meanwhile, BJP MLA Ashim Sarkar stated that if citizenship was given according to the principal act of 1955, then there was no need for an amendment act of 2019.
