1. Shantanu Thakur, a key BJP leader and Union Minister, has announced the imminent implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) across India.
2. The declaration was made at a public gathering in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district.
3. Thakur expressed confidence that the CAA would be enforced nationwide within the next seven days.
Kolkata, Jan 29: Shantanu Thakur, Union Minister and prominent BJP figure has declared that the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) will be realized across India within the next seven days.
This proclamation was made during a public gathering in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district.
Speaking in Bengali at the event in Kakdwip, South 24 Parganas, Thakur asserted, “I can guarantee that in the next seven days, not just in West Bengal, but the CAA will be implemented across India.”
The CAA, enacted by the Indian Parliament in 2020, aims to extend citizenship to non-Muslims from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh who entered India before December 31, 2014.
Specifically, the legislation targets Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians who face religious persecution in their countries of origin.
Shantanu Thakur, also the president of the All India Matua Mahasangha and the representative of the Bongaon Lok Sabha seat, has been a vocal proponent for the enforcement of the CAA.
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His constituency is home to a substantial Matua population, a Dalit community originally from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), which migrated to India during the partition in 1947 and the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.
The BJP has garnered support from the Matua and other Dalit communities, contributing to their electoral triumphs in the 2019 Lok Sabha and 2021 state polls. The assurance of CAA implementation remains a key demand of these communities.
Despite the controversies surrounding the CAA, with critics contending that it links citizenship to religious faith in a secular nation, the government has signaled that the rules for the CAA will be formulated by March 2024.
This aligns with Shantanu Thakur’s recent claim regarding the imminent nationwide implementation of the CAA.
It is noteworthy that the Trinamool Congress party opposes the CAA, branding it as unconstitutional.
However, the BJP persists in advancing its agenda, possibly eyeing the 2024 parliamentary polls as an opportunity to solidify its stance on the issue.
As the nation awaits the unfolding of these developments, the political landscape remains watchful of the potential implications that the enforcement of the CAA may have on India’s diverse population.
