Have doubts over legality of CAA rules, says Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday expressed concern over the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA, saying there is no clarity in the notified rules with doubts on its legal validity.

Addressing a program in Habra in North 24 Parganas district, Bengal CM warned people to think several times before applying for citizenship under the law.

"This is a game of taking away the existing rights of citizens and is directly linked to the implementation of the NRC in the country," she claimed.

The chief minister alleged that the CAA was unconstitutional and discriminatory. Mamata Banerjee has maintained that she will not support the discriminatory law. In a press conference earlier, soon after the BJP notified about CAA, she clearly stated that the law won’t be accepted.

If there is any discrimination, we won't accept it. Be it religion, caste, or linguistic. They won't be able to give citizenship to anyone in two days. This is just lollipop and show-off," Ms Banerjee said on Monday.

The CAA was formalized on Monday after Union Home Minister Amit Shah shared the information on a social media post on X. The CAA aims to give citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian communities who have sought refuge in India due to religious persecution in their home countries, excluding Muslims. 

The bill was approved by both houses of Parliament and received presidential assent in December 2019, which led to nationwide protests.

After the announcement, there were reports of protests in New Delhi’s Jamia Millia University which was at the center of CAA protests in 2019 and Assam.
There was a heavy police deployment at the university after a group of students led by the Muslim Students Federation (MSF) apparently raised slogans against the Modi government and the Delhi Police.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University has also issued an advisory appealing to students to remain vigilant and maintain "peace and harmony" on campus. However, it was not mentioned whether the advisory was released as a result of this move.

The Centre’s move sparked protests in Assam as well with the 16-party United Opposition Forum, Assam, (UOFA) announcing a statewide hartal (strike) on Tuesday, besides planning other agitational program in a phased manner.

There’s fear among many indigenous groups in the northeastern region that CAA implementation will lead to an influx of illegal immigrants to the state, especially from Bangladesh.

The AASU and 30 indigenous non-political organizations burnt copies of the CAA and organized protest rallies in different parts of the state, including Guwahati, Kamrup, Barpeta, Lakhimpur, Nalbari, Dibrugarh, Golaghat and Tezpur, reported the Hindustan Times.

“We won’t accept the CAA in any manner and the peaceful, non-violent and democratic protests against this legislation which is harmful for the people of Assam will continue and intensify in coming days,” AASU chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya told the newspaper.