Indian Home Minister Amit Shah has announced that Hindu, Sikh and Jain refugees who were forced to flee Bangladesh and seek refuge in India will be granted Indian citizenship within the next six months. He also warned that all illegal immigrants in West Bengal would be identified, screened and deported.
Speaking at an exhibition in Siliguri on India’s three new criminal laws, Amit Shah said the Ministry of Home Affairs has delegated authority to district collectors in eight districts of West Bengal to verify and approve citizenship applications under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
“All Hindu, Sikh and Jain refugees who were forced to flee Bangladesh and come to India will be granted Indian citizenship with full dignity,” Amit Shah said.
Under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), eligible Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian migrants who entered India from Bangladesh, Pakistan or Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014, have a legal right to apply for Indian citizenship.
Regarding illegal immigration, Amit Shah reaffirmed the government’s hardline position, saying it would implement a “Detect, Delete and Deport” policy.
“I want to make another promise to the people. We will identify every infiltrator and drive them out of West Bengal permanently,” he said.
In West Bengal, which shares a border with Bangladesh, cross-border migration and illegal immigration from Bangladesh remain highly sensitive political issues. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has consistently made preventing illegal immigration and implementing the CAA key political issues.
Amit Shah also strongly criticized former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for repeatedly opposing the implementation of the CAA. Referring to Mamata, he said, “Mamata Didi, although you did not accept this, your government has also fallen and you have left. Now the Bharatiya Janata Party government is in power here.”
Amit Shah’s latest remarks are expected to intensify political disputes in West Bengal over the implementation of the CAA, granting citizenship to refugees, border security and illegal immigration.
The Home Minister was in Siliguri to attend an exhibition on India’s three new criminal laws the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA).
Ref: TBS News
