Ready to pay with my life, but won’t allow CAA, says Mamata

KOLKATA:  Two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) while addressing a rally in Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday slammed the BJP, accusing the saffron camp of sparking a debate on the contentious Act whenever elections approach.

“Whenever elections are around, BJP speaks of implementing CAA, NRC (National Register of Citizens) and try to confuse people,” said Mamata, while addressing a rally in Krishnagar, Nadia. The Trinamool Congress chief referred to the development in Gujarat where ahead of the announcement of dates of Assembly polls, the Ministry of Home Affairs has empowered district collectors to grant citizenship certificates to the members of Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Christian, Buddhist and Jain communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. 

Mamata’s remark is said to be politically significant as the venue of the rally in Nadia district, which has significant electorates of Matuas, Hindu refugees from Bangladesh. The BJP caused a sharp dent in TMC’s Matua vote-bank in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Eyeing to woo the electorate, who came from Bangladesh and settled in the district, Mamata said, “Whenever elections are around, they (BJP) remember about Matuas. I am telling my Matua brothers and sisters nobody can snatch away your citizenship, I am ready to pay with my life but won’t allow them to snatch your citizenship.”

The TMC government in West Bengal opposed implementation of CAA and the state witnessed large-scale violent protests. Referring to the BJP’s impressive performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections by bagging 18 out of 42 seats,  she said the situation is different now. “The BJP will not come to power in 2024. I am not saying this but people are saying. Do you think they will get all the seats? No calculation says so,” she said.