Citizen Amendment Act / I guarantee that CAA will be implemented in 7 days, claims Union Minister Shantanu Thakur

Citizen Amendment Act: Union Minister Shantanu Thakur said on Sunday that I guarantee that the Citizen Amendment Act (CAA) will be implemented across the country within 7 days. Thakur was addressing a rally in Kakdwip in South 24 Parganas. He said that CAA will be implemented not only in West Bengal but across the country within the next 7 days. Thakur is BJP MP from Bangaon. On Thakur's claim, the ruling Trinamool Congress in the state again reiterated that CAA will not be implemented in the state under any circumstances. Trinamool state spokesperson Kunal Ghosh accused the BJP and the central government of spreading such news to mislead people before the Lok Sabha elections.

Earlier, during a rally in Kolkata in December last year, Home Minister Amit Shah had also said that no one can stop the implementation of CAA. Shah had cornered Mamata Banerjee on the issues of infiltration, corruption, political violence and appeasement. He had urged the people to remove the Mamata government from Bengal and elect BJP in the 2026 assembly elections.

On Shah's statement, Mamta had said- He wants to divide the people. Earlier, the citizenship card was the responsibility of the District Magistrate, but now it has been snatched away only for politics. They want to divide people. They want to give it to some and deprive others of it. If any community is getting citizenship then others should also get it.

The bill has been passed by Lok Sabha-Rajya Sabha in 2019

On 11 December 2019, 125 votes were cast in favor of the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019 (CAB) and 99 against it in the Rajya Sabha. The next day on 12 December 2019, it got the approval of the President. Amid huge protests across the country, the bill took the form of law after being passed by both the Houses. It was presented in the Lok Sabha by Home Minister Amit Shah on 9 December.

Changes made in the 1955 law

The Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016 (CAA) was introduced in 2016. In this, some changes had to be made in the 1955 law. These changes were to give citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from India's three Muslim neighboring countries Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. On 12 August 2016, it was sent to the Joint Parliamentary Committee. The committee had submitted the report on 7 January 2019.

More than 50 lives were lost in the riots that broke out in protest

This bill was in controversy even before it came to the Lok Sabha, but after it became a law, the opposition to it intensified. Demonstrations took place in many areas of Delhi. On the night of 23 February 2020, the violence that broke out after a crowd gathered at Jafrabad Metro station turned into riots.

Resolution against CAA has been passed in four states

After the CAA bill was passed by both the houses of the Parliament, 4 states have passed resolutions in the Assembly against it. First of all, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan presented a resolution against CAA in December 2019, saying that it is against the secular outlook and the fabric of the country. In this, granting citizenship will discriminate on the basis of religion.

After this, Punjab and Rajasthan governments passed resolutions against CAA in the Assembly. The fourth state was West Bengal, where a resolution was passed against this bill. West Bengal CM had said- We will not allow CAA, NPR and NRC in Bengal.