CAA likely to be implemented by December: West Bengal BJP MLA
Kolkata, Aug 5: The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is likely to be implemented by December, West Bengal BJP MLA Asim Sarkar claimed on Friday.
Sarkar, the convenor of the BJP's refugee cell in West Bengal, said the CAA needs to be rolled out in the state to meet the aspirations of the people.
"Being the head of the state refugee cell, I have the hunch that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will finally come into force by this December. The process will start to set the drive in motion by that time," he told reporters.
"The CAA needs to be rolled out in West Bengal to meet the aspirations of the people, particularly Hindu refugees in bordering districts," he added.
Sarkar, the MLA of Haringhata in Nadia district, had earlier said the discontentment among Hindu refugees from Bangladesh would never be addressed if the CAA is not implemented before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The Trinamool Congress said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will never allow CAA to be implemented in the state.
"People like Asim Sarkar are trying to mislead migrants, including the backward Matua community, by making such false claims," state Forest Minister Jyotipriyo Mallick told PTI.
Those who voted in the previous elections are bonafide citizens of the country, he said.
"Not only in West Bengal, CAA cannot be implemented anywhere in the country. There are 300 cases related to CAA pending in court. Asim Sarkar and leaders of his ilk should desist from such false claims with an eye on vote bank," Mallick said.
Earlier this week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah assured leader of opposition in West Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari that rules regarding the CAA will be framed after the Covid precaution dose vaccination exercise is over.
The framing of rules for the CAA will pave the way for its implementation. Passed by Parliament in December 2019, the Act is yet to be rolled out due to the absence of rules. The government has cited the outbreak of the pandemic for not framing them so far.
The CAA seeks to provide Indian citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis entering India on or before December 31, 2014 from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after five years of residence here.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Five killed in fresh violence in Manipur's Jiribam
Imphal/Kolkata (PTI): Five people were killed in fresh violence in Manipur's Jiribam district on Saturday morning, police said.
One person was shot dead in his sleep while four others were killed in subsequent exchange of fire between armed men of two warring communities, a police officer said.
Militants entered the house of the person who lived alone in an isolated location around 5 km from the district headquarters and shot him dead in his sleep, he said.
After the killing, a heavy exchange of fire broke out between armed men of the warring communities in the hills around 7 km from the district headquarters, leading to the deaths of four armed persons, including three hills-based militants, the officer said.
Further details are awaited.
Earlier this week, fresh arson broke out in the district after suspected "village volunteers" burnt down an abandoned three-room house of a retired police officer at Jakuradhor in Borobekra police station said.
Tribal body Indigenous Tribes Advocacy Committee (Pherzawl and Jiribam) denied any involvement in the incident.
The district witnessed fresh violence despite representatives of the Meitei and Hmar communities reaching an agreement to restore normalcy and "prevent incidents of arson and firing" in a meeting held at a CRPF facility in adjoining Assam's Cachar on August 1.
In the meeting moderated by the Jiribam district administration, Assam Rifles and CRPF personnel, and representatives of Hmar, Meitei, Thadou, Paite and Mizo communities of Jiribam district were also present.
The agreement was, however, denounced by several Hmar tribal bodies based outside Jiribam district saying they did not have any knowledge about it.
More than 200 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.
Ethnically-diverse Jiribam, which was largely untouched by ethnic violence in Imphal Valley and adjoining hills, erupted in violence after a 59-year-old man belonging to one community was killed allegedly by militants of another community in June this year. Thousands had to leave their homes and relocate to relief camps due to incidents of arson by both sides. A CRPF jawan was also killed in an ambush by militants during patrolling by security forces in mid-July.
