Guwahati: In a public rally held in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas on Sunday, Union Minister Shantanu Thakur declared that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) would be implemented not only in West Bengal but across India within the next seven days.
Addressing the gathering, Thakur stated, “The Ram Mandir in Ayodhya has been inaugurated, and within the next seven days, the CAA will be implemented across the country. This is my guarantee. Not just in West Bengal, the CAA would be implemented in every state of India within a week.”
The controversial CAA, introduced by the Narendra Modi government, grants Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants – Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians – from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who arrived in India until December 31, 2014. Previously, there were widespread protests in the northeastern states against the government’s plans to implement the CAA.
The North East Students’ Organisation had declared December 11 as ‘Black Day’ across the region in protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The Rajya Sabha approved the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill on December 11, 2019, completing the legislative procedure for granting Indian citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.
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The region witnessed violent protests in December 2019 after the Bill was passed in Parliament. Concerns persist in the northeast about the potential impact of granting citizenship to refugees on the indigenous communities.
In December 2022, the North East Students’ Union (NESO) marked the third anniversary of the passage of CAA in Parliament as ‘black day’ across the region. Black flags and banners were displayed in seven northeastern states as per NESO’s call.
Also Read | CAA a limited, narrowly tailored law for specific reasons: MHA