Guwahati:

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the recent notification of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, has emerged as a major political issue in Assam.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said at least five lakh Bengali-speaking Hindus, two lakh indigenous Assamese, and 1.5 lakh Gorkhas were left out of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Out of this, between three and six lakh will apply for citizenship under the CAA, Mr Sarma told a local news channel.

Many people left out of the NRC exercise had documents to prove their citizenship, so they will go to the Foreigners Tribunal instead of applying under the CAA, Mr Sarma said.

“The CAA rules were notified last week and by April 19, we’ll have around 40 days. This will be enough time to understand the actual scenario,” the Chief Minister said.

“Thirteen Hindu families in Gujarat have already been granted citizenship under the CAA, but in Assam, not many people have applied till now. Many families, especially Hindu Bengalis, entered Assam from Bangladesh even after March 25, 1971, and some of them returned as well,” Mr Sarma said.

The cut-off date for legally taking refuge in the state as per the Assam Accord is March 25, 1971.

“Many of these families were denied ration cards by the authorities at that time, so they only had one document – the refugee registration cards issued by border authorities. But Prateek Hajela (former state coordinator of NRC) didn’t allow these cards in the NRC update process. Due to this, many names were excluded, around 16 lakh, from the final draft of the NRC which was published in August 2019,” Mr Sarma said.

“It has seven lakh Muslims apart from Assamese caste Hindus including Koch Rajbangshi, Kalita, Das, etc. In my opinion, three to six lakh people will apply under the CAA and not 20, 18 or 15 lakh or 1.5 crore, which some people are claiming,” the Chief Minister said.

“It can be 10 per cent more or less, but not more than six lakh. A section of andolanjeebi are spreading lies to traumatise the common people. They are saying 1.5 crore Hindu population decreased in Bangladesh and those people have entered Assam. But the fact is, two crore Muslim population increased in that country, so the Hindu population decreased because they were converted,” Mr Sarma said.

“The protesters won’t tell you the other side… They said a large number of trucks are waiting near the international border, and once CAA comes into existence, they will enter Assam… but fact is nobody from Bangladesh entered our state after CAA rules were notified,” the Chief Minister said.

Guwahati:

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that he will be the first to resign if one person, who has not applied for the National Register of Citizens (NRC), gets citizenship.

His comment comes after protests erupted across Assam with opposition parties flaying the BJP government at the Centre for implementing the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) on Monday, paving the way for granting citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

”I am a son of Assam and if a single person who has not applied for NRC gets citizenship, I will be the first to resign”, the chief minister said on the sidelines of a programme at Sivasagar.

The protesters are claiming that lakhs of people will enter the state after the implementation of the CAA.

”If this happens, I will be the first to protest,” he said.

There is nothing new about the CAA as it was enacted earlier, the chief minister said, adding that ”now the time has come for application on the portal”.

”The data on the portal will speak now, and it will become clear whether the claims of those opposing the Act stand factually correct or not,” Mr Sarma said.

With the CAA rules being issued, the central government will now start granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, who came to India till December 31, 2014. These include Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians. The law could not come into effect as rules had not been notified till now. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said that her government will not allow the implementation of CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) or NRC (National Register of Citizens) in the state.

The chief minister also targeted the BJP-led central government over the violence in Manipur, saying the Centre sent over 400 teams to Bengal. “How many teams did you send to Manipur, where our sisters were burnt,” she asked.

Ms Banerjee, while addressing the Trinamool Mahila Wing rally in Kolkata, said, “We will not allow CAA, nor NRC, nor the politics of dividing Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, nor the false politics of dividing the Matua community, nor the false politics of dividing Hindus and Muslims. We do not accept this.”

Earlier in February, the West Bengal chief minister said that the government will not implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) initiative and will provide separate cards to those whose Aadhaar card is deactivated.

“Those who are playing with the Aadhaar cards and trying to deprive people of their rights, people will throw them out of power. We will issue a separate card that will help to protect the citizen’s rights. We have prepared a portal named ‘Aadhaar Grievance Portal of West Bengal Government’. Those whose Aadhaar card has been deactivated should inform us as soon as possible so that they continue to enjoy their democratic, social and economic rights,” the chief minister said.

The CAA, introduced by the Narendra Modi government, aims to confer Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants, including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians, who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and arrived in India before December 31, 2014.

Following the passage of the CAA by Parliament in December 2019 and its subsequent Presidential assent, significant protests erupted in various parts of the country.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while speaking at the Republic TV Summit 2024 on Thursday, reiterated that the Citizenship Amendment Act will be implemented before the Lok Sabha elections.

The Union Home Minister said, “This will be implemented before the elections…this is the law of the country, no one can stop it, this is set in stone, this is the reality.”

Mr Shah also batted for the Uniform Civil Code, saying that this is not only the agenda of the BJP, but also the vision of the constitutional assembly and is included in Article 44 of the Constitution.

“Unfortunately, UCC has been associated with religion. Today I want to tell the people of the country that UCC is not just the agenda of BJP, but since 1950 we have been saying that when we come to power, we will bring UCC to this country. Since 1950, ‘Uniform Civil Code’ has been a part of our manifesto. If you expect the State to be secular, then the laws of the State must also be secular. Personal laws based on religious domination can never give us a secular State,” Home Minister Amit Shah said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)