Bangladesh-origin Hindu, Sikh, Jain to get Indian citizenship: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah promised Indian citizenship to Hindu, Sikh and Jain refugees who were forced to flee Bangladesh within the next six months.

The home minister also vowed to identify and deport infiltrators from Bengal.

Addressing a programme in Siliguri, Shah said the Union Home Ministry had delegated powers to eight district collectors in West Bengal to finalise citizenship applications under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Amit Shah said it while addressing an exhibition showcasing the country’s three new criminal laws.

Shah also accused former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of opposing the CAA and said she had mocked the Centre’s attempts to implement it.

“Mamata Didi, you did not accept it, but your government is gone and you are gone too. Now there is a Bharatiya Janata Party government,” he said.

He said the Union Home Ministry had given the necessary powers to eight district collectors in West Bengal to complete the CAA citizenship process.

The home minister’s remarks are likely to intensify the political debate in West Bengal over the CAA, citizenship for refugees, alleged illegal immigration from Bangladesh and border security.

The CAA provides a pathway to Indian citizenship for eligible Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014, subject to the conditions prescribed under the law.

Source: The Statesman