West Bengal becomes the 4th state to pass resolution against Citizenship Act
Hindustan Times, Kolkata | ByHT Correspondent
Jan 27, 2020 05:31 PM IST
Loud slogans were raised intermittently against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and union home minister Amit Shah during discussions on the resolution. All lawmakers called the CAA anti-people, divisive and discriminatory.
The West Bengal assembly on Monday passed and adopted a resolution against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) that the Trinamoool Congress (TMC) government presented in the house.
Rajasthan, Kerala and Punjab are the other non-BJP ruled states that have passed a resolution against the Citizenship Act.
Loud slogans were raised intermittently against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and union home minister Amit Shah during discussions on the resolution in the state assembly. Lawmakers from the non-BJP parties called the CAA anti-people, divisive and discriminatory.
“This protest is not only of minorities but of all. I thank my Hindu brothers for leading this protest from the forefront. In Bengal, we won’t allow CAA, NPR, and NRC. We will fight peacefully,” said chief minister Mamata Banerjee in the state assembly.
The resolution was opposed by BJP legislator Swadhin Kumar Sarkar, legislator from Baishnabnagar, but his voice got drowned in anti-Centre slogans by the ruling party members.
The Congress and Left parties supported the government and voted for the resolution although leaders from these parties criticised the Trinamool for not allowing them to present a similar resolution earlier.
Banerjee was the last to speak on the resolution. She said her government will never allow citizenship screening.
The amended law act grants Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi, Jain communities who allegedly fled religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and entered India on or before December 31, 2014.