The 2019 Act amended the Citizenship Act, 1955, which makes illegal migrants eligible for citizenship if they (a) belong to the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian communities, and (b) are from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan.The Trinamool Congress on Thursday once again accused the Bharatiya Janata Party for ‘using’ the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) with an eye on next month’s Gujarat election. TMC leader Saugata Roy called the CAA ‘a mere spectacle’ ahead of assembly elections.
“CAA was passed in 2019 but no rules notified yet, it’s a mere spectacle. TMC is against CAA. The issue is being raised because of the Gujarat polls. If they’re giving citizenship under Citizenship Act 1955 why didn’t they do that till now?,” TMC MP was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
A day ago, Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee made similar allegations and said, “ With upcoming Gujarat assembly polls, the CAA issue is again flaring up. Will the BJP decide who is a citizen? Matuas are very much citizens of this country,” she was quoted by news agency PTI. To this, the BJP hit back at the TMC saying that both the houses have passed the CAA and it will be implemented across the country, regardless of what the Bengal CM alleges.
“The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, has already been passed in both houses of the Parliament. Now it lies with the central government. It will be implemented throughout the country,” Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. “If Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee opposes this it means she is challenging the sovereignty of the country. CAA will be implemented in Bengal. If she does not want that it means she does not want refugees to become citizens,” he added.
The 2019 Act amended the Citizenship Act, 1955, which makes illegal migrants eligible for citizenship if they (a) belong to the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian communities, and (b) are from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan. It only applies to migrants who entered India on or before December 31, 2014. As per the amendment, certain areas in the Northeast are exempted from the provision.
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