The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will start campaigning from January for the implementation of the new citizenship law in West Bengal, which is linked to the ballot box, announced the party’s national secretary general, Kailash Vijayvargiya, and the national vice president. Mukul Roy, at a public meeting in Calcutta on Sunday afternoon.
The issue is sure to increase political tension in the state, as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee opposes the law and has stated that she will never enforce it.
Bengal Congress Speaker Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who is also party leader in the Lok Sabha, said: “What stopped the BJP from enforcing the law before? Since he is ready to move on, he should start with Assam. “
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act provides citizenship to non-Muslims who entered India from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh before December 31, 2014. Opponents of the law, notably Banerjee, insist that it is discriminatory and unconstitutional in going out to Muslims and links citizenship to faith in a secular country.
Accusing Banerjee of appeasing Muslims, Vijayvargiya told a BJP program on Mayo Road in Kolkata that his party will take to the streets next month to campaign for the implementation of the law.
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“The prime minister calls the prime minister a foreigner. She calls the Union Minister of the Interior an outsider. But for her, the Rohingya refugees, who are spreading terror, and the infiltrators from Bangladesh are not outsiders. Are you (Mamata Banerjee) his aunt? “said Vijayvargiya.
“Mamata Ji is opposed to granting citizenship to Hindus who came to India as refugees. Why should we allow that? Don’t Hindu refugees have the right to live as citizens on equal terms? ” he said.
Mukul Roy made it clear that the BJP would raise the issue during the campaign for the crucial six-month assembly elections.
“We will go to the people. Citizenship is an important issue. The TMC cannot read the writing on the wall. That is immaturity in politics. We will win the elections with more than 200 (out of 294) seats. If we can’t win more than 200 seats, all this hard work will mean nothing, ”Roy said.
TMC leadership said it will resist all attempts by the BJP to enforce the law in the state.
“Mamata Banerjee made it clear a long time ago. We oppose the law and we will resist the BJP, ”said Saugata Roy, TMC Lok Sabha member and party spokesman.
The CPI (M) legislator and leader of the left-wing parties in the state assembly, Sujan Chakraborty, said: “We are aware of the BJP’s plans, but I will not react now.”
The central and state leadership of the CPI (M) opposes the law.
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