CAA will be implemented within 7 days in India, claims Bengal BJP MP

Union Minister and BJP leader Shantanu Thakur claimed that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) would be implemented across India within the next seven days. 

This announcement was made during an event in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district.

"I can guarantee that in the next seven days, not just in West Bengal, but the CAA will be implemented across India," Thakur said in Bengali while addressing a public gathering in Kakdwip in South 24 Parganas in Bengal.

The CAA, which was passed by the Indian Parliament in 2020, is designed to offer citizenship to non-Muslims from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh who entered India before December 31, 2014. The act specifically aims to assist Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians who faced religious persecution in their native countries.

Shantanu Thakur, who is also the president of the All India Matua Mahasangha and represents the Bongaon Lok Sabha seat, has been a vocal advocate for the implementation of the CAA. His constituency is home to a significant number of Matuas, a Dalit community originally from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), who migrated to India during the partition in 1947 and the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.

Also Read: Rules for CAA ready, will be issued much before Lok Sabha polls: Report

The BJP has seen support from the Matua and other Dalit communities, which contributed to their electoral victories in the 2019 Lok Sabha and 2021 state polls. The promise of the CAA's implementation has been a principal demand of these communities.

Despite the controversy surrounding the CAA, with critics arguing that it links citizenship to faith in a secular country, the government has indicated that rules for the CAA will be framed by March 2024. This timeline aligns with the recent claim by Shantanu Thakur regarding the imminent implementation of the CAA.

It is important to note that the Trinamool Congress party has opposed the CAA, labelling it unconstitutional. However, the BJP continues to push forward with its agenda, potentially eyeing the 2024 parliamentary polls as an opportunity to solidify its stance on the issue.

As the nation anticipates the unfolding of these events, the political landscape remains attentive to the implications that the enforcement of the CAA may have on the country's diverse population.