KOLKATA: The Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal kicked off a door-to-door campaign in favour of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) with a printed booklet stating the implementation of CAA will be followed by the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The 23-page release, published in Bengali, English and Hindi, states that the Centre intends to implement the NRC across the country despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s firm statement that the nationwide register has not been discussed by his government.
The book has tried to simplify the CAA issue in a question and answer format to allay people’s fear. A question in the booklet reads, “Will there be NRC after this (CAA)? How much is it needed? And if there is NRC, will Hindus have to go to detention centres like in Assam?”
“Yes, there will be NRC after this. At least, that is the intention of the central government,” the answer reads.
The booklet has also said the Hindus lodged in detention centres in Assam will be released after the CAA is implemented.
Elaborating on why NRC is required, the booklet mentions, “It is heard that there are around two crore infiltrators in Assam and West Bengal. It is needed to enlist these infiltrators as D-voters. That is why countrywide NRC is needed.”
The Trinamool Congress leaders, meanwhile, attacked the saffron party, saying that the booklet removed the “mask from BJP’s face”.
“What the BJP wants in the name of implementing CAA, the booklet has made it clear. But their mission will not be accomplished. The people of Bengal, under the leadership of CM Mamata Banerjee, are participating in mass movements against BJP’s divisive conspiracy on the line of religion,” said Trinamool minister Firhad Hakim.
Echoing same, CPM’s central committee member Sujan Chakrabarty said the book explained clearly how the BJP is planning to use the CAA to implement NRC.