BJP says CAA implementation within a week, Trinamool retorts
Union Minister Shantanu Thakur has announced the imminent nationwide implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, commonly referred to as CAA. He said it will be implemented within the next seven days.
Thakur conveyed these statements on Sunday at a public rally in Kakdwip in the South 24-Parganas district of Bengal.
“The inauguration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya has taken place, and I guarantee that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, will be enforced nationwide within the next seven days. This assurance extends beyond West Bengal, as the CAA will be implemented in every state of India within a week,” stated the BJP’s Lok Sabha MP from Bangaon.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleging that the party has resumed the call on implementing the CAA in pursuit of votes as the Lok Sabha elections are near.
“We have stood against the NRC [the National Register of Citizens, to be created after the implementation of the CAA]. Rajbanshis are Indian citizens. Once again, they have started clamouring for CAA solely for electoral gains,” Banerjee asserted during a public distribution programme in Cooch Behar.
Bengal Minister Shashi Panja said on the issue: “As usual, the BJP is resorting to its old tactics vis-à-vis CAA. He [Shantanu Thakur] lacks confidence himself when he says these statements. Our CM Mamata Banerjee has very specifically and categorically mentioned that this is an election issue for the BJP. The people of Bengal whose citizenship he is talking about are already citizens of this country.”
