“Another jumla to divide Bengal”: Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee warns against CAA

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lashed out at the Central Government on Tuesday for the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), calling it an attempt to “divide Bengal” and “BJP’s game to disrupt peace”.

“The CAA has no clarity, I doubt whether it has any validity,” said the TMC Supremo. Warning against applying for citizenship under the CAA, she said while addressing an administrating meeting in Habra. “The moment you apply for citizenship, you will become an illegal immigrant, you will become a foreigner… you will lose all rights, and there is no guarantee that you will get them back... this is BJP’s ‘jumla,” she added. The Chief Minister further warned that there is no clarity in the law regarding property and assets that are already owned by a citizen and what would happen to them once a person is labeled as an illegal immigrant. “Why now? If the intentions were right they could have done it a year back. We could have weighed the implementation but they did it ahead of elections to polarise elections”, said Mamata Banerjee, calling the move fundamentally against the constitution of India that ensures equality and equal rights.

Banerjee further stated that CAA is closely linked to the National Register of Citizens, reminding how out of the 19 lakhs that were put into detention camps in Assam after the implementation of NRC in the state in 2019, 13 lakhs were Bengali-speaking Hindus.

The Bengal CM also questioned why Afghanistan was included in the list of countries from where refugees will be given citizenship. “Why has Afghanistan been included in the list? It is not a bordering nation of India. Why has Myanmar been excluded despite being a bordering nation? Why has Sri Lanka been excluded?” questioned Banerjee.

“Only 6 religions – Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains and Christians have been included in the law. Muslims have been excluded. This is against the secular structure of the Indian Constitution,” added Mamata Banerjee. She added that she will not allow the CAA to be implemented in Bengal, nor will she allow the construction of a single detention camp in the state.

On March 11 (Monday), the Central Government issued the Citizenship Amendment Act. The act entails that Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs, Jains and Parsis who migrated to India from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh due to religious persecution before December 31, 2014, can apply for citizenship. Opposition parties across India have criticised the move which comes right before the Lok Sabha Elections. “Why didn’t you do this before, why before the elections?” said Banerjee. She further pointed out that the announcement was made on the day which marks the start of the Ramadan month, the holy month in Islam.

The announcement however was taken positively by a section of the Matuas, a Hindu Scheduled Caste community who migrated to India from Bangladesh. Celebrations were held in Matua-dominated areas in Bengal after the announcement on Monday. Matua Politician and BJP MP Shantanu Thakur thanked the Prime Minister and the Home Minister on X. “I wholeheartedly thank Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodiJi, Hon'ble Home Minister Shri @AmitShah Ji, @BJP4India's leadership in paving the way for CAA's implementation across the country,” wrote Shantanu Thakur on X.​