CAA will be implemented after Covid-19 vaccination programme: Shah to Bengal BJP

Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday assured the West Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a long-pending assurance by the Union government to fast-track citizenship rights for persecuted minorities from neighbouring countries, will be implemented once the Covid-19 vaccination drive of the precautionary dose is complete.

It must be noted that the rules for the law are yet to be framed.

Shah made the announcement during an interaction with West Bengal leader of opposition and BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari after the latter requested the home minister’s nod for the resumption of CAA implementation, stating that the issue was ‘critical’ for the state.

The contentious Act met with nationwide protests over the past few years after it was passed by Parliament on December 11, 2019; it was notified within 24 hours on December 12. The Union home ministry subsequently informed that the Act will come into force from January 10, 2020.

The issue of citizenship under CAA was a major bone of contention in West Bengal ahead of the last assembly elections. It was also one of the key reasons why the BJP found support from the politically significant Matua community that will benefit the most from the law.

The Matuas, a scheduled caste community, has a population of around 50 million people, of which around 3 million are in West Bengal alone, while 15 million are listed as voters.

Shah had said during a rally in May this year that the law will be implemented once the Covid-19 pandemic is over.

In December last year, a BJP delegation led by state unit president Sukanta Majumdar, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought the implementation of CAA in the state.

Meanwhile, both he and Adhikari discussed organisational issues pertaining to the party’s expansion in the state. The BJP state unit has also submitted a list of 100 TMC leaders against whom they have levelled charges of corruption and want the government to take appropriate action.