The West Bengal Assembly on Monday became the fourth State after Kerala, Punjab and Rajasthan to pass a resolution against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, even as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called upon all the Opposition parties to sink their differences and put up a united fight against the BJP-led Union Government.
Addressing the House, Mamata said, “We will never allow CAA, NPR, and NRC in Bengal, and resist the draconian CAA peacefully.”
She expressed her anguish over how the Centre was trying to befool the people by offering to provide citizenship through the amended Act.
“Though in the face of it CAA is designed to provide citizenship… for that to happen you have to become a foreigner for five years. This is a vicious game that will push people towards death. I appeal you not to fall in trap,” she said.
Mamata wondered whether the BJP wallas were “brand ambassadors of Pakistan,” talking more of the hostile neighbour than their own country.
She said, “The label of doubtful citizens, detention centers... is unacceptable. The way things are, it was better not to have been born. Today, people are scared that they may have to leave this country. They are queuing up for all kinds of cards.”
Calling upon the opposition parties to sink their narrow differences and put up a united resistance against the “divisive policies of the BJP,” Mamata said, “though I am for Tagore’s ‘ekla chalo’ policy and ready to walk alone, I appeal to all the parties that this is not the time to fight among them… It is the time to sink differences and unite against the bigger danger… you will gave more occasions to fight against me but this is the time all of us should unite to put up a joint fight.”
Banerjee’s campaign against CAA and NRC has been punctuated by her disagreements with the Left and Congress as the two parties have repeatedly expressed their doubts over the sincerity of her anti-BJP-anti-CAA stance.
Despite the Left and the Congress backed the Monday’s motion grudgingly they accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of toning down the language of the draft. “We voted for the resolution though and did not press for the amendment …” Left Legislature Party leader Sujan Chakrabarty said adding the language of the draft was unusually soft.