Kolkata: A day after the Centre notified The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, implementing the legislation throughout the nation forward of the Lok Sabha elections, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee termed it an “election gimmick”.
Addressing a authorities programme in North 24 Parganas district, Mamata Banerjee stated the Act had been introduced in solely to harass folks and win two seats within the Lok Sabha elections.
“They are asking for your father’s birth certificate. Do you have your father’s birth certificate? I don’t have one. I don’t even know my parents’ birthdates. Those who are jumping with joy, read the Act and see how dangerous it is. You will be marked a refugee, then your property, your house, your basic rights will be taken away, few will get citizenship but the remaining will be sent to a detention camp,” she claimed.
The CM will lead an anti-CAA protest in Siliguri at this time.
To perceive the authorized implications of the notified guidelines, advocate on document within the Supreme Court, Anas Tanwir, instructed ThePrint that in case the CAA isn’t granted to the individual making use of, she or he will probably be despatched to detention camp as India doesn’t have a deportation treaty with both Pakistan, Afghanistan or Bangladesh.
“One can become a citizen of this country by birth, if one of the parents is Indian or by naturalisation. Now, if you have come to India on or before 2014 you are eligible (for citizenship), so an applicant would have already completed 10 years, additional two years will make no difference now, making it just an electoral plank.”
According to Tanwir, who has intently studied the principles, if the Matuas have been voting, they’re naturally Indians, since non-Indians can not vote in Indian elections, and don’t want separate citizenship.
“If one is unable to provide any proof of the originating country, that person becomes an illegal immigrant. That anyway is illegal and has no link to CAA. But the CAA and NRC (National Register of Citizens) are not connected. NRC was a court-monitored exercise,” he added.
In West Bengal, the CAA has political ramifications on the subject of Hindu refugee Rajbanshis and Matua communities — the 2 largest Scheduled Caste (SC) teams within the state.
According to the 2001 census, each communities have a inhabitants of over 32 lakh every. While the Rajbanshis are concentrated in North Bengal districts of Cooch Behar, Uttar Dinajpur, Malda, and Jalpaiguri, the Matuas are dominant in North 24 Parganas district and Nadia. Between the 2, they play key electoral roles in a minimum of eight Lok Sabha seats of Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Uttar Dinajpur, Balurghat, Alipurduar, Darjeeling, Bongaon and Ranaghat.
The Rajbanshi neighborhood, which occupies components of North Bengal, finds its roots in Kamata Kingdom. After 1947, this SC neighborhood was divided into splinter teams. While one needed a distinct state for Koch Rajbanshi, one other demanded SC standing, which was granted. The battle for statehood has been silent for some time now.
Narendra Modi cupboard’s MoS house and sports activities and youth affairs, Nishith Pramanik belongs to the Rajbanshi neighborhood. He has been given a ticket once more to battle 2024 polls from Cooch Behar. The BJP additionally nominated Koch chief Anant Maharaj to the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal, indicating their clear deal with this neighborhood, which can be present in Assam, components of Bihar, and in addition Nepal and Bhutan.
Also learn: Shaheen Bagh roared towards CAA 4 yrs in the past. Now there’s an uneasy quiet, ‘no intentions to protest’
Reason for TMC to stay optimistic
While on one hand, the BJP, that had promised the implementation of CAA earlier than the elections, sees this as a giant increase, particularly in Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) additionally stays optimistic about tackling the BJP over the brand new legislation which Mamata has stated, she is not going to enable in her state.
The implementation of the CAA has additionally given the TMC a breather from the warmth it has been getting over Sandeshkhali.
Speaking to ThePrint, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Mamata Bala Thakur admitted that BJP may achieve marginally from the implementation within the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. But the TMC plans to show that round with protests on floor in Bongaon, the headquarters of the All India Matua Mahasangha.
“BJP trying to enforce the law just days before the election is a clear indication of their political intention. This might not help them a lot, but a section of the Matuas is celebrating. We will begin protesting from tomorrow, we are citizens already, we don’t need CAA. We wanted citizenship without any conditions, then why are they asking us to fill forms and seeking documents? We won’t accept these forms,” stated Thakur to ThePrint.
While MoS Shantanu Thakur stated that this may assist Matuas apply for passports, which they couldn’t get earlier because of inadequate paperwork, Mamata Bala Thakur stated many Matuas, together with her, have passports already.
“What Shantanu Thakur is saying is incorrect, I have a passport, I was born in Maharashtra, so I had to get all the documents. It was a tiresome process despite me telling them I was a former MP and had a red passport,” claimed Mamata Bala Thakur.
Meanwhile, in Kolkata, Mamata’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee has launched a mega SC/ST outreach marketing campaign for the occasion.
Starting 15 March, SC/ST Trinamool leaders will go to SC/ST dominated areas in branded marketing campaign automobiles and maintain hotspot conferences. TMC leaders say the occasion has ready booklets which is able to depict how BJP has let down the SC/ST communities and the way the TMC has been safeguarding their rights. These booklets will probably be shared throughout the hotspot conferences. The Trinamool will use 150 blue-white SUVs with the Trinamool image branded as ‘Tapashili Sanglap’ (primarily tribal outreach), which is able to journey to SC/ST dominated areas for public connection for electoral help within the upcoming Lok Sabha polls,”
According to political analyst Snigdhendu Bhattacharya, this long-pending announcement has not put the TCM on the backfoot thus far. “There is scope for confusion over declaring oneself a foreigner first. This will definitely help the TMC to polarise the anti-CAA, anti-NRC votes in her party’s favour. West Bengal did witness protests, especially in Howrah against CAA. How things shape in Assam is also likely to have a bigger impact electorally for both neighbouring West Bengal and other states,” he instructed ThePrint.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
Also learn: Renewed protests in Assam over CAA guidelines notification
