West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday hit out at the BJP for implementing the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, in Gujarat. Taking a swipe at the ruling BJP over the Morbi bridge collapse in Gujarat, she claimed that those affected were not getting enough help as the government there was in election mode.
Speaking to reporters at the Kolkata Airport, before leaving for Chennai, Ms Banerjee said: “Stop this politics. Gujarat elections are coming, that is why they are doing it [implementing CAA]. We won’t allow it. We are all citizens.”
She added: “We are totally against this, and we opposed this. They are playing this game because of Gujarat elections, but I will stick to what I said earlier. Election is not that important. Politics is not that important. People’s lives and their rights are more important.”
BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Assembly, had claimed yesterday that implementation of CAA had started in the country and West Bengal won’t be left out.”
His comment came a day after the centre announced granting of Indian citizenship to minorities, mostly from Pakistan, who 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).
Ms Banerjee’s party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), has been one of the most vocal opponents of the CAA, reiterating its stand that it will never allow its implementation in Bengal. The BJP, however, has promised to implement CAA in Bengal. With Panchayat polls scheduled early next year, this is likely to emerge as a major issue.
