The pitch for the political battle for the upcoming panchayat election in West Bengal is getting ready, with West Bengal Chief minister Mamata Banerjee making it clear that CAA-NRC will not be allowed in the state.
On Tuesday, February 21, CM Banerjee made the remark while attending a function commemorating International Mother Language Day in Siliguri.
“We won’t allow anyone to hamper the peace and prosperity of our land. We won’t allow CAA-NRC (Citizenship Amendment Act-National Register of Citizens) to take place in Bengal. I am making this clear to BJP leaders who keep rooting for CAA,” CM says in her speech addressed to the public.
The much-debated Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, was passed to provide Indian citizenship to migrants who entered India on or before December 31, 2014. The Act was passed for migrants belonging to six different religions – Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians – from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
The National Register of Citizens is a register prepared after the 1951 census. The NRC was published only once, in 1951. It was prepared for each village, showing the houses or holdings in serial order and indicating the number and names of people staying in each house or holding.
While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been propagating the CAA-NRC, opposition parties are opposing it by painting it as biased against Muslims.
Speaking on Ekushe February as a tribute to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives to make Bengali the official language, CM Banerjee said, “Today is a special day as it is International Mother Language Day. Amongst us, we have people who speak different languages, be it Santhali, Rajbangshi, Kamatapuri, Nepali, Gorkha, Ol Chiki, Hindi or Bengali. I will state this, no matter what, Bengal will never be divided. Not today, not tomorrow, never.”
On Monday, February 20, the West Bengal state legislative assembly passed a motion against any attempt to demand separate statehood for North Bengal.
Following their strong showings in the 2019 general election and the 2021 assembly election, the BJP has pitched their demand for separate statehood for North Bengal. They cited the fact that the state government has deprived the people of North Bengal of their basic rights.