Matuas will get citizenship, Mamata Banerjee can't stop CAA implementation, says Amit Shah

Bongaon (WB), May 14

In a bid to address concerns of the Matuas over citizenship, Union Home Minister Amit Shah assured the community that its members would get citizenship under the CAA and accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of spreading falsehood about it.

Addressing a rally in Bongaon, a stronghold of the Matua community, in North 24 Parganas district, Shah asserted that Banerjee can “never stop the implementation of the CAA in the state as it is a law by the central government”. 

“No power in the world can stop my refugee brothers from becoming citizens of India. This is the promise of Modi Ji. Mamata Banerjee must remember that citizenship falls under the exclusive authority of the central government, not the state governments,” he said. 

Shah accused Banerjee of “lying” and spreading “falsehood” about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). 

“Mamata Banerjee is lying that anyone who applies for citizenship under the CAA will face problems. I have come to assure the people of the Matua community that no one will face any trouble. You will get citizenship and will be able to live with respect in the country,” he said.

The minister also said, “I guarantee you that no one will face any inconvenience and difficulty. You will get both citizenship and respect in the country.” 

Banerjee had recently claimed that if the opposition bloc INDIA comes to power, of which the TMC is a part at the national level, it would repeal the CAA by bringing in a new law in Parliament. 

The Centre, in March, implemented the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, notifying the rules four years after the law was passed by Parliament to fast-track citizenship for undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014.