New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched a scathing attack on the government of India’s Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), accusing it of excluding Muslims and erasing their contributions to the nation.
Mamata said she does not want ‘detention camps in Bengal just like in Assam’.
“The CAA is related to NRC, that is why we are opposing it. We don’t want detention camps like those in Assam,” the Trinamool Congress chief was quoted by PTI as saying.
Speaking at a program in North 24 Parganas district, Banerjee criticized the CAA’s ambiguity and claimed it paves the way for the contentious National Register of Citizens (NRC) nationwide.
Banerjee asserted that the CAA’s omission of Muslims implies a denial of their contributions to India’s progress.
She described the legislation as discriminatory, unconstitutional, and a precursor to implementing the NRC, echoing concerns raised by various quarters about its potential to target minority communities.
Expressing concerns over the fate of existing citizens under the CAA, she warned against the potential designation of citizens as illegal immigrants, leading to detention camps. Banerjee emphasized that her opposition to the CAA is rooted in its connection to the NRC and called it a political ploy ahead of Lok Sabha polls.
Banerjee’s remarks come in the wake of the GoI’s issuing rules for the implementation of the CAA, which grants Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who arrived in India until December 31, 2014. The specified communities eligible for citizenship under the CAA include Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians.
The West Bengal CM’s stance adds to the ongoing debate surrounding the CAA and its implications for religious minorities in IInda.
