CAA Implementation: Mamata Says Won’t Allow ‘Detention Camps’ In Bengal Like Assam

Mamata Banerjee alleged that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) aims to create communal division among the people of the country as she criticised the exclusion of Muslims from the ambit of the new legislation.

Citizenship Amendment Act 2019: Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday asserted that her state won’t allow “detention camps” akin to neighbouring Assam as the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is invariably linked to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) which is why she and her party are opposing the contentious legislation.

“The CAA is related to NRC, that is why we are opposing it. We don’t want detention camps like those in Assam,” Banerjee told reporters in Jalpaiguri, while also dubbed the CAA as a “political gimmick” played by the ruling BJP ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

‘CAA aims to create communal division’

Addressing an administrative meeting in Jalpaiguri, Banerjee alleged that the CAA aims to create communal division among the people of the country as she criticised the exclusion of Muslims from the ambit of the new legislation which allows providing Indian citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The TMC supremo also underscored that the citizenship-granting process proposed by the central government is different from that of other nations and expressed concerns over the lack of clarity in the CAA application process and its potential ramifications on people’s rights.

“CAA is related to NRC. In the USA, if anyone studies there for five years, he gets a green card. Everywhere across the world, countries follow a similar rule. But what have they done in Bengal, in India?” They have eliminated the entire Muslim community those who have come from Bangladesh or various other places,” Banerjee said while addressing a gathering at a public distribution event in Siliguri.

No refugee will be ousted from Bengal

Banerjee affirmed her government’s commitment to safeguarding the citizens of West Bengal and assured that no refugees will be ousted from the state and will be given permanent settlement.

“We are not landlords, but vigilant custodians. No one will be ousted from West Bengal. All refugees will find permanent settlement here,” she pledged.

Pointing out that the Rules lack clarity, she suggested, “If someone gets rights we are happy. You can leave it to the DMs (District Magistrates). You can follow the system which is practiced throughout the world. I don’t have a problem with that.”

“If someone has stayed in this country for 5 or 10 years, or married someone from here…there are several cases like this,” she added.

BJP’s ‘distorted Hinduism’

Mamata Banerjee also rebuked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleging that it espouses a “distorted interpretation of Hinduism”.

“The BJP’s conception of Hinduism deviates from the teachings of the Vedas and Swami Vivekananda,” she contended.

On Monday, March 11, the central government notified the rules of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), paving the way for granting Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, who came to India till December 31, 2014.

The minorities include Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians, as per the CAA.

Hindu migrants will suffer most due to NRC

However, the West Bengal CM warned Hindu migrants regarding NRC implementation, stating that they would bear the brunt of the legislation, if and when it is implemented.

“Hindus should not forget that when NRC, CAA was implemented in Assam, among 19 lakh illegal migrants, 13 lakh were Hindu Bengalis. Keep this in mind.”

(With inputs from agencies)