All who have cast votes and elected the PM, CM are citizens, says Mamata Banerjee

Continuing her faceoff against the Centre over the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday (March 3) said that all who have cast votes and elected the Prime Minister, Chief Minister, Assembly, Zilla Parishad are citizens of India.

"Those who have come from Bangladesh have got citizenship. Why give it afresh? Citizen means the public. All have cast votes and elected the Prime Minister, Chief Minister, Assembly, Zilla Parishad ... and they will say you are not citizens? Please do not believe all this. You are all citizens. I will not allow anyone to be chased away. I will not let a single person from Bangla be denied his rights," she said.

The West Bengal chief minister also slammed the BJP-led government at the Centre for failing to control the Delhi violence and said, "Don't forget this is Bengal. What happened in Delhi will never be allowed to happen here. We do not want Bengal to turn into another Delhi or another Uttar Pradesh."