Won't Allow Implementation Of CAA, Citizens To Become Refugee Due To This, Says Mamata Banerjee

Image: ANI

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said that she would not allow the implementation of the Citizenship Amendments Act (CAA) in the state and urged people to think before applying for citizenship under the law. She expressed doubts about the legal validity of the CAA rules and called it a 'game of snatching rights'. 

After the Ministry of Home Affairs announced the implementation of the Citizens Amendment Act 2019 yesterday, Banerjee said that she would not allow the CAA to be implemented in West Bengal.

While addressing people in Howrah, CM Banerjee said that the Modi government is creating a divide in the name of providing citizenship to migrants. She claimed that the citizens will become refugees once they apply for citizenship under the law.  “As soon as people apply for citizenship, they will become illegal residents and will be taken to detention centres,” the Chief Minister said.

Banerjee said that the implementation of the CAA is directly related to the implementation of the National Citizenship Register (NRC) in the country. She claimed that Muslim immigrants who are already citizens of India will be declared illegal and will be disadvantaged under the NRC. 

She said there is no clarity about the existing assets of such illegal immigrants and whether they will be confiscated.  "If even one person gets rights I will be happy, but if anyone is deprived I will give him shelter," said Banerjee.