Mamata Banerjee Slams BJP's CAA Cry Ahead of Lok Sabha Elections

Cooch Behar: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday saying that the party has again started crying "CAA CAA" for the sake of votes as Lok Sabha elections are approaching.

"We have fought against the NRC. Rajbanshis are citizens of India. They have again started shouting CAA, CAA for the sake of votes," Mamata Banerjee said at a public distribution program in West Bengal's Cooch Behar on Monday.

Banerjee's remarks came after Union Minister Shantanu Thakur said on Sunday that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will be implemented across the country in a week.

The West Bengal Chief Minister said that her government has acknowledged all colonies as "permanent addresses," and all residents who get the benefit of various state government benefits are citizens of the country.

"All of you are citizens. We have given permanent addresses to all colonies. They get ration, go to school, get scholarships, get Kisan Bandhu, Shikhashree, Oikoshree, Laxmir Bhandar. How could they get these benefits if they had not been citizens? Had they been able to cast votes if they were not citizens?" Banerjee questioned.

Hitting out at the central government for misusing central agencies, Banerjee said, "Do you remember the Sitalkuchi case? The CISF has earlier shot four people to death. They shoot people as if they are zamindars. If anyone oppresses you in your village, fire an FIR first. They instil fear and conduct elections through agencies."

Various reports have claimed that four people were killed in West Bengal's Sitalkuchi after being fired by CISF during the assembly elections in 2021.

Accusing the BJP of misusing the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation, to harass political opponents, Banerjee said, "They call leaders and say that if you do not come with us, we will send ED to your houses. What will the ED do? What will the CBI do? They are here today by they may not be there tomorrow."

The CAA, introduced by the Narendra Modi government, aims to confer Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants - including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians - who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and arrived in India before December 31, 2014. Following the passage of the CAA by Parliament in December 2019 and its subsequent Presidential assent, significant protests erupted in various parts of the country.