WB BJP to meet PM to apprise him of pro-CAA campaigns

A delegation of Bengal BJP leaders is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his two-day visit to the city from January 11, to brief him about the steps taken to counter the TMC's "misinformation campaign" on the new citizenship law, party sources said.

The saffron party members were also planning to apprise him of the "deteriorating law and order situation" in the state during the meeting, scheduled to be held at Raj Bhavan, they said.

"We would like to meet him separately, during his visit, to apprise him about the worsening law and order situation in the state. We will tell him that the state government had allowed infiltrators to have a free run during protests in December," a senior state BJP leader said.

The prime minister is set to attend 150th-anniversary celebrations of the Kolkata Port Trust (KOPT) on January 12, among other scheduled programmes.

"We plan to brief him about the steps taken by our state unit to counter the misinformation campaign by Trinamool Congress and other opposition parties," he said.

The CAA, which seeks to grant citizenship to non- Muslim minorities who fled religious persecution in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh and moved to India before December 31, 2014, has emerged as the latest flashpoint in the state, with the TMC opposing the legislation tooth and nail, and the BJP pressing for its implementation.

Protests over the new law and a proposed pan-India NRC had rocked West Bengal mid-December, with incidents of violence and arson reported from various parts of the state.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the saffron camp of dividing masses on religious lines.