The decision of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to empower the collectors of two more districts in Gujarat — Mehsana and Anand — to grant citizenship certificates to the members of Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Christian, Buddhist and Jain communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, has sparked off a debate on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in West Bengal, with BJP leaders saying that the CAA would soon be implemented in the State.
This was not the first time district magistrates or collectors had been delegated such powers by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The notification was not related to the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, that was yet to come into effect, still the BJP leaders lapped up the development.
Leader of the Opposition and BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday claimed that the process of CAA implementation had started in the country and West Bengal would not be left out of it.
“The implementation of CAA has started. We have been waiting for it. This will benefit the Matuas and Namasudras of the State,” Mr. Adhikari said. Representatives of the Matua community had been demanding the implementation of CAA in West Bengal since 2019 and were even threatening that the BJP would face consequences if the Act was not implemented by 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Bongaon BJP MP and Union Minister of State for Shipping, Santanu Thakur said, “I can only say if the CAA is implemented, it will be of great help to members of backward castes including the Matua community.” The Union Minister is a prominent Matua leader in the State.
Meanwhile, Asim Sarkar, a representative of the Matua community and also a BJP MLA wondered if there was a need for CAA as religious minorities from neighbouring countries could be given citizenship with a notification using the Indian Citizenship Act of 1955.
The other political parties in West Bengal also claimed that the BJP leadership here was making hollow claims. Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha and Baharampur MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also said the BJP was making “empty noises about the CAA implementation”. Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said the ruling party in West Bengal would never allow the CAA to come into force in the State. ”The BJP will not be able to roll out the CAA in the country. Suvendu Adhikari is making tall claims ahead of the 2023 panchayat polls as part of their effort to polarise the society,” he alleged. The CPI(M) leadership also echoed similar views and said that while the notification in Gujarat was related to polls in the western State in West Bengal, BJP leaders were trying to highlight CAA in the wake of rural polls scheduled in 2023.
