Kakdwip (South 24 Parganas): Union Minister Shantanu Thakur on Monday claimed that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) will be implemented across the country within a week.
Addressing a public meeting in Kakdwip in South 24 Parganas, Thakur said, "The Ram Mandir has already been inaugurated. And in the next seven days, CAA will be implemented across India. I can guarantee this from this dais today. CAA will be implemented in every state, including West Bengal. You can all see it."
"The West Bengal Chief Minister has said that if you have a voter card, Aadhaar Card then you are a citizen. You can vote. But here, I have heard that thousands of people have been denied the right to vote. Why has this been done?" Thakur asked.
The BJP Lok Sabha MP from Bangaon said CM should answer why people were deprived of their voting rights. He claimed that those who were deprived to vote are from the Matua community and supporters of the BJP. "Is it because of this that they were not given voter cards?" he asked.
Thakur said, "Passport verification is done through voter card, Aadhaar card, ration card and other documents. But those who came after 1971, need citizenship because we need to protect our future generations so that they don't suffer like the Rohingyas. So, central government will implement CAA. After that, no government will have the power to drive away anyone out of our country. This is why CAA is important and it will happen within next week."
Notably, when Union Home Minister Amit Shah came to Kolkata last year, he said that no one can stop the BJP-led central government from implementing CAA. Political analysts said BJP had bagged a significant number of votes in Bengal in the last Lok Sabha polls from the Matua community.
Even though the Citizenship Amendment Bill became a law in 2019, it is yet to come into force in the country. The Centre had earlier said that CAA rules were being prepared and would be notified soon.
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