Kolkata, May 14 (IANS): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of spreading falsehood on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Addressing an election rally in the Matua-dominated Bangaon Lok Sabha constituency in support of BJP nominee and sitting MP Shantanu Thakur, the Home Minister said: “Mamata Banerjee is misleading the people by saying that applying for CAA will attract trouble. I want to assure all of you that no one will be in trouble. You will get citizenship and stay in the country with dignity. No power in the world can stop Hindu, Sikh, and Jain refugees from becoming citizens of the country."
To recall, on March 11, the Centre notified the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules 2024, thus paving the way for enforcing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which seeks to grant Indian citizenship to persecuted Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians who came to India from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan before December 31, 2014.
The news triggered celebrations among the members of the Matua community, a backward-class Hindu group that came to West Bengal as refugees from neighbouring Bangladesh, with a large section settling down in the Bangaon region.
He also said that on one hand the Chief Minister and the Trinamool Congress are trying to make infiltrators the citizens of the country, while on the other they are opposing the CAA through which people from the Matua community will be granted citizenship.
“I want to remind Mamata Banerjee that grating citizenship is within the authority of the Union government and the state government,” he said.
Amit Shah also attacked Chief Minister Banerjee for not attending the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya despite being invited.
“Despite being invited, she did not attend the inauguration ceremony to appease her dedicated vote bank. The world knows who constitutes Trinamool's vote bank. Remember, you are not part of their vote bank. Infiltrators constitute their vote bank,” Amit Shah said.