Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that the Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA) will come into force as soon as the Covid19 pandemic ends. He made this statement while addressing a rally in New Jalpaiguri, West Bengal. Shah also accused the West Bengal government of illegal infiltration and for spreading rumours over implementation of CAA.
“Mamata Banerjee wants illegal infiltration to continue while refugees languish. We will not let this happen. TMC is spreading rumours about CAA, saying it will not be enforced. I promise you today that once the corona(virus) pandemic ends, we will enforce it in Bengal. We will ensure that refugees from Bangladesh get Indian citizenship. It is a matter of months. It was reality, it is reality and it will be a reality,” said the Union Home Minister.
Though the CAA was passed in 2019, rules regarding its implementation are yet to be framed. Amit Shah is on a three day visit to West Bengal. He returned to the state exactly a year after the BJP lost the state elections.
Shah also said that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government is trying to divide the Gorkhas, Rajbanshis and Adivasis in north Bengal with an attempt to change the demography of the region.
Also Read | BJP accuses Rahul of doing politics over Covid-19 deaths
Amit Shah further attacked West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on governance issues like, not reducing local tax on fuel in addition to 25% Value Added Tax (VAT); corruption; nepotism and political violence post 2021 polls. He further striked at Banerjee for sending fact-finding teams to Uttar Pradesh and not to West Bengal's Birbhum where eight women were burnt alive or to Nadia where a minor girl was raped.
“It is impossible to stop transborder smuggling and infiltration without the cooperation of the local government. I assure that a political situation will soon evolve in which this cooperation will come automatically,” Shah said.
Also Read | Bagga arrest: 2 cases lodged against Punjab Police
Mamata Banerjee responded to Amit Shah's comments and said that Shah was misleading people by spreading false information over and over again, in context to CAA. She added that CAA is not necessary because all Bengalis are Indian citizens. On crimes in Bengal, CM Banerjee said that Shah is not the home minister of Bengal as law and order is a state subject. As Union Home Minister he should focus on the violence at Jahangirpuri in Delhi, she added.
