Centre confusing people in name of CAA: Mamata

PTI, Feb 1, 2023, 8:14 AM IST

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday alleged that the BJP-led central government is “confusing people” in the name of implementing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Banerjee also claimed that she and her party Trinamool Congress have been taking care of the Matua community people, whose roots are in Bangladesh, and blamed the BJP for trying to approach them as a “friend” in the name of the CAA.

”In the name of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, they (Centre) are confusing people. We have been taking care of the Matuas for a long time, but when polls approach, the BJP goes to them, claiming to be their friends… screaming CAA,” Banerjee said at a government programme here.

The Matuas, originally hailing from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), started migrating to West Bengal in the 1950s, mostly due to religious persecution there.

The CAA facilitates the grant of citizenship to migrants belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

But, as the rules under the act have not been framed by the government yet, no one so far could be granted citizenship under it.

Banerjee also accused the BJP-led central government of “not releasing” the state’s dues.

”You (Centre) owe over Rs 1 lakh crore to Bengal, give us our dues,” she said without elaborating.

Banerjee had earlier alleged that the Centre was not releasing funds for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme.

Referring to river erosion mostly in the districts of Malda and Murshidabad of West Bengal, Banerjee said that the central government has ”stopped looking into the matter”.

”Our biggest challenge now is to arrest river erosion; the Centre is not taking care of it anymore,” she said. The chief minister also took a jibe at Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, without naming him, claiming that he had abolished the job quota in Purulia district.

“Each district of the state has job quotas. It was he who had abolished it from Purulia district. I would request the judiciary to find out what transpired in Purulia,” she said.