West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday reiterated her stance against implementing the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the state. Her statement came while she was addressing a poll rally in Assam’s Silchar. In a fiery address to the crowd, she proclaimed, “If we (I.N.D.I.A bloc) win, we will not implement discriminatory NRC and CAA in the state… This election is going to be terrible. I have never seen such a black and corrupt election before… I am not afraid of any threats.”
It is to be noted that CM Banerjee has been in persistent opposition to the contentious citizenship laws, which she has vocally opposed in various forums.
Last week, while attending a namaz event in Kolkata, Banerjee had launched a scathing attack on BJP, reaffriming her resolve against the NRC and CAA. She had warned against “divisive politics”. Referring to the recent Bhupatinagar incident, she urged the public to maintain peace and not succumb to provocations.
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In a related incident, Banerjee on April 8, criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pledge to combat corruption, alleging that the BJP’s “Modi ki Guarantees” hints at a crackdown on opposition leaders after the elections. She accused the saffron party of turning the entire country into “jail”.
Her critique extended to central agencies, particularly the National Investigative Agency (NIA), which she accused of operating in Bhupatinagar without local police coordination. She expressed dissatisfaction with the central agency’s conduct and rebuked PM Modi for his “stringent action against corruption post-election results” remark.
PM Modi, in his recent rally in Bengal’s Jalpaiguri, said, while he says “remove corruption, the opposition says to save the corrupt”. His remarks accompanied a promise to “take more strict actions against the corrupt after June 4”.