Union Home Minister Amit Shah Thursday said the process of granting Indian citizenship to refugees under the CAA, including to the Matua community of West Bengal, will begin once country’s COVID vaccination programme ends. “As soon as vaccination drive will conclude and we become Corona-free, the work of providing citizenship will be undertaken. CAA is Parliament’s law, how can you stop it? Also, you will not be in a position to stop it,” Shah said addressing a rally here in the bastion of the Matua community. Accusing the opposition parties of misleading the minorities about the Citizenship (amendment) Act, he said its implementation will not impact the citizenship status of Indian minorities. Shah said the Modi government had in 2018 promised it will bring in a new citizenship law and kept it when the BJP was voted to power in 2019. He said, after the country was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, its implementation had to be kept in abeyance. “Mamata didi said we made a false promise. She started opposing the CAA and saying she will never allow it. The BJP always fulfils the promises it makes. We have brought this law and refugees will get citizenship. Matuas, originally from East Pakistan, are weaker section Hindus who migrated to India during the Partition and after the creation of Bangladesh. Many of them have been accorded Indian citizenship but a sizeable section of the population has not. Shah said Banerjee will not be in a position to oppose the implementation of the CAA as she will cease to be the chief minister after the assembly polls likely in April-May this year. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which the Parliament passed last year, offers citizenship to non-Muslims who entered India from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh before December 31, 2014. Opponents of the law, among whom Banerjee is a prominent face, insist that it is discriminatory and unconstitutional as it leaves out Muslims and links citizenship to faith in a secular country. “People of Matua community have gathered here in large numbers, it shows that the next government in West Bengal will be of Bharatiya Janata Party,” Shah further added. Moreover, Shah also set target for BJP’s social media team to reach out to 2 crore of West Bengal’s 10 crore population before polls.
