JOIN USShah pledges CAA implementation in West Bengal; Didi says voters are already citizens
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on Thursday, told his party supporters in Siliguri that Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) will be implemented in the state once the spread of Covid-19 subsided. In the meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will not return to power in 2024, and the ‘game’ is not lost.
Shah, who returns to West Bengal after a year, is here on a two-day visit. His visit coincides with Trinamool Congress (TMC) celebrating the completion of a year of governance in a third consecutive term at the top. Shah’s visit appears to be the beginning of an aggressive campaign by the BJP, which is girding itself for the 2023 panchayat polls and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
In his address, Shah thanked the people for voting in favour of the BJP which took its seat tally to 77 in the 2021 Assembly elections. The BJP had only won three seats in the 2016 Assembly polls. Shah accused the TMC of spreading rumours about the CAA. He asserted that the Act is “real”, and the central government will implement the CAA once the pandemic ebbs. “CAA was, is, and is going to be a reality,” he said.
According to the Home Minister, despite being re-elected as Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee didn’t “change”. He asked the crowd whether the alleged excesses of the Trinamool have stopped. “Don’t think the BJP representatives will be frightened. Till the excesses (he stated several) don’t end, the BJP will continue its fight and will take it to a conclusion,” Shah said.
Highlighting the fact that the Trinamool had sent fact-finding teams to other states (one to Jahangirpuri, in New Delhi the other to Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh), Shah also pointed out that TMC’s teams didn’t reach out to investigate the violent incidents in West Bengal.
Meanwhile, responding to media persons in Kolkata, Banerjee alleged that the BJP “divides” people and the Trinamool believes in unity. Reacting to queries about CAA implementation, she said that the people who voted were already citizens. “We don't want any citizen's rights to (be) curbed. We want all (citizens). We have to stay together. Unity is our strength,” she said.
She ruled out the possibility of the BJP returning to power in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. On the possibility of Opposition unity, she said that “it depends on the situation”. “Don’t think the game is lost… I think good sense will prevail for everybody (BJP’s opponents) and they will come together because we have to fight the battle very strongly,” she added.
She ruled out the possibility of the BJP returning to power in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. However, she said “it depends on the situation” whether there was a possibility of a coalition Opposition.
“Don’t think the game is lost…good sense will prevail for everybody (BJP’s opponents) and they will come together because we have to fight the battle very strongly,” she said.