CAA game plan by BJP to brand Bengali migrants as Bangladeshis: TMC's Abhishek Banerjee

Addressing an election rally in Ranaghat in Nadia district, Banerjee claimed that if anyone, despite enjoying citizenship, applies for citizenship under the CAA, he or she will be branded as Bangladeshi.

Ranaghat, West Bengal: TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday alleged that the CAA was a game plan of the BJP to brand Bengali Hindu migrants and bona fide citizens, who had settled in West Bengal decades back, as Bangladeshis.

Addressing an election rally in Ranaghat in Nadia district, the TMC national general secretary claimed that if anyone, despite enjoying citizenship, applies for citizenship under the CAA, he or she will be branded as Bangladeshi.

"The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is another 'jumla' of the BJP. You must remember how the BJP government in Assam had sent many Hindu Bengalis there to detention camps in the name of the National Register of Citizens. We are always on your side to fight against the BJP's game plan to take away your citizenship," the Diamond Harbour MP said at the programme.

Banerjee challenged the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre to ensure those applying under the CAA get citizenship within a week from the date of submission of their applications.

"Is there any need to apply under the CAA, if you have voter identity, PAN or ration card? Don't apply for citizenship under the CAA. Did any BJP leader apply to the CAA portal? The answer is no," he said at the rally.

Describing the NDA government at the Centre as 'anti-Matua community', Banerjee claimed that Matua leader Mamata Bala Thakur was not allowed to mention names of her community’s icons, Guru Chand Thakur and Hari Chand Thakur, during her oath-taking ceremony as a Rajya Sabha MP.

Banerjee, the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accused the Narendra Modi government of depriving workers under the MGNREGA scheme by 'withholding' funds of the rural employment programme.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (MGNREGA) is aimed at enhancing the livelihood security of households in rural areas of the country by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year.

"Eighteen BJP MPs did not utter a single word when the Centre took anti-Bengal steps harming the interest of the poor. Not a single among them had brought a single paisa to the state while our MPs were suspended for raising people's grievances," he said.

Banerjee apprehended that the 'one nation one election theory by the BJP will take away people's rights' to cast votes in future elections.

He alleged that the 'BJP was curbing the rights of Bengali Hindus to eat fish and other non-veg items in the name of religion and by imposing its diktat'.