Bengal to clear all pending CAA applications in six months: Adhikari

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said all pending Citizenship (Amendment) Act applications would be cleared within six months, asserting the law grants citizenship, not takes it away, while accusing the previous TMC government of spreading misinformation about the legislation

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday announced that all pending applications for citizenship under the CAA in the state would be disposed of within the next six months, and asserted that the law was enacted to grant citizenship and not to deprive anyone of it.

Speaking at a CAA certificate distribution programme at New Town, where around 300 members of the Matua community from North 24 Parganas district received citizenship certificates, Adhikari alleged that the previous Trinamool Congress government had misled people over the legislation for “political gains”.

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“The CAA is meant to grant citizenship, not to take away anyone’s citizenship,” Adhikari said. He appealed to eligible people to come forward and apply for citizenship under the Act, saying more certificates would be issued in the coming months.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, seeks to grant Indian citizenship to refugees belonging to six communities, who had sought shelter in India before December 31, 2014, due to religious persecution in three neighbouring countries – Pakistan, Bangladesh and Bangladesh.

The six communities are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians. Presenting the state’s progress in implementing the CAA, the chief minister said 23,956 citizenship certificates had been issued so far, including 5,966 over the past 11 weeks since the new BJP government was formed.

According to him, a total of 2,30,605 applications have been received from across the state. Nadia district has recorded the highest number of beneficiaries with 10,191 certificates, followed by North 24 Parganas with 8,930.

“Following discussions with the Union Home Secretary, the process of delegating legal and administrative powers to district magistrates for the speedy disposal of CAA applications is expected to begin within a month,” he said.

District magistrates in Gujarat and Rajasthan already have this power, Adhikari said. Recalling the BJP’s promise on citizenship to refugees belonging to religious minority communities from neighbouring countries, Adhikari said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured Matuas during a rally ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections that eligible refugees from Bangladesh would be granted Indian nationality. He said Parliament subsequently passed the CAA, and the rules were notified on March 6, 2024, after the COVID-19 pandemic delayed its implementation.

Targeting the previous TMC government, Adhikari alleged that it had deliberately created confusion by equating the CAA with the National Register of Citizens (NRC). “The previous government projected the CAA as the NRC and misled the people, particularly the Muslim community. False propaganda was spread claiming that applying under the CAA would result in the loss of jobs, ration benefits or the Lakshmir Bhandar financial assistance scheme,” he said.

Government property was vandalised during protests based on such misinformation, the CM said, adding: “Today, the truth has come out, and even MLAs from the opposition have attended this government programme voluntarily.” Adhikari said the government would take steps to secure the release on bail of eligible CAA beneficiaries who continue to face legal proceedings or remain in jail because of documentation-related issues.

He also said the state police had been instructed to ensure that no eligible applicant faced harassment in matters related to the CAA. Adhikari added that after citizenship certificates are issued, the state government would facilitate the inclusion of beneficiaries’ names in the electoral rolls and ensure that eligible applicants receive Scheduled Caste certificates in a time-bound manner.

At the programme, attended by senior state government officials, ministers and legislators, one of the beneficiaries, a woman refugee who received the Indian citizenship certificate, spoke. “I lived in Bagerhat in Bangladesh and came to India in 2006. I had been living in fear for so many years. I thank the Prime Minister and the chief minister,” she said.