There was celebration in the Bengal BJP camp following reports that the Central Government had eased the stay-norms for the persecuted minority communities — in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh etc — who had crossed over to India to evade religious persecution.
Henceforward, those who came to India on or before December 31, 2024, would be allowed to stay in the country without passport or other travel documents.
Informing about the decision taken by the Home Ministry, Union Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar said that this measure would bring a big relief to thousands of the persecuted members from the Hindu, Sikh and other communities who had crossed over to India — particularly after the change of power in Bangladesh last year — but were worried about their political fate.
The Centre's decision was an improvement on the provisions mentioned in the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and was more pragmatic and realistic keeping in view the recent political developments in the eastern neighbouring country, Majumdar said.
The CAA, which came into force earlier, stipulated that the persecuted minorities who came to India on or before December 31, 2014, would be granted Indian citizenship.
"Decades after decades the Dalit Hindus continued to be persecuted, attacked and tormented in the East Bengal … they were forced to come to India … no one paid any attention on them … but it was the great patriotic son of India Prime Minister Narendra Modi who made this arrangement and now no Hindu or other persecuted minorities from across the border who came to India on or before December 31, 2024 will be in problem … they can now be sure of their future," Majumdar said at an event organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).
According to a Home Ministry directive a person belonging to a minority community in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan -- Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians - "who were compelled to seek shelter in India due to religious persecution or fear of religious persecution and entered the country on or before December 31, 2024 without valid documents, including a passport or other travel documents, or with valid documents, including a passport or other travel documents, and the validity of such documents have expired will be exempted" from the rule of possessing a valid passport and visa.
The extended deadline was likely to help the BJP in the border districts of Bengal which goes to State polls in about eight months from now, political pundits said.
According to the State BJP think tank the new provisions could help a large number of Hindu dalits including the 80-lakh strong Matua community that have an influence on about 25-30 Assembly constituencies.
A senior State BJP leader said, "when the TMC was filling electoral rolls with illegal Bangladeshi Muslims to aid its vote bank politics we were helpless … now if the new laws help the BJP --- and on genuine grounds --- then they should also not lament."
The Trinamool Congress however slammed the BJP for "playing a dirty and dangerous game to divide the population along religious lines."
Party spokesperson Arup Chakrabarty said that the "so called new amendments that have been brought will have to be passed in Parliament … they are just making use of it before the elections to pursue their divisive politics and divide the people … but that will not serve any purpose … Hitler did the same thing in Germany and everyone knows about his fate … they are playing a dangerous game and will have to pay dearly… they are befooling the people."