Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said she will oppose the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rules announced today if they are discriminatory.
“If there is any discrimination, we will not accept it. Be it religion, caste or language. They will not be able to grant citizenship to anyone within two days. It is just lollipop and show-off,” said Ms. Banerjee at the State Secretariat at a hastily held press conference.
The regulations were delayed for more than four years and were only announced today, just weeks before the country votes to elect a new government. The law cannot take effect because the rules have not yet been published.
The law seeks to provide citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis who came to India from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014.
Soon after the law was passed, a series of protests took place across the country, including in the Northeast.
Trinamool has opposed CAA from the beginning.
“Implementing the policy two to three days before the election is announced after multiple extensions over four years shows that it is for political reasons,” Ms Banerjee said.
In December last year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that no one can stop the implementation of the CAA as it is the law of the country and accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of misleading on the issue people.
In the last Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in West Bengal, a major poll support for the BJP was its promise to implement the controversial CAA.
