Union Home Minister Amit Shah reiterated that the BJP would ensure implementation of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) if it comes to power in West Bengal. He speaking at a press conference during his election campaign tour in the state, on Friday.
He, however, clarified that the Centre will decide how and when the law will be enforced.
On April 2, Shah had claimed that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has clearly lost the poll battle in West Bengal and said the Citizenship Amendment Act will be on the agenda in the first meeting of the new BJP government, which will come to power in the state.
On Friday, the home minister said the TMC government had opposed CAA. "Our government will undo that. The rest will be decided by the Centre. We are committed to giving citizenship rights to people who entered India as refugees,” he was quoted as saying.
Shah had earlier in February said the law will be enforced by the Centre after everyone is vaccinated against COVID-19 and the pandemic ends. Later, while launching the party manifesto on March 21, the home minister had vowed to clear the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act in the first cabinet meeting of the new government.
Shah also hit out at the chief minister on Friday, saying her fulminations against central forces betrayed frustration over "impending defeat" in the assembly elections and wondered whether she is pushing the state towards anarchy.
The home minister exuded confidence that the BJP will win anywhere between 63 and 68 seats where polling has been held in the first three phases.
"The frustration of the TMC overe impending defeat is very much evident from her action and speeches. I Have never seen a chief minister or the president of a political party use the kind of words Mamata Banerjee is using against central forces. Is she trying to create anarchy? Does she want disturbance? Or does she want to win the election through rigging like before? She should know that central forces do not function under the home ministry during elections. They function under the jurisdiction of the Election Commission," he told the press conference.
—With PTI inputs
