Nationwide implementation of CAA within a week: Indian state minister

India's State Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shantanu Thakur yesterday said the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will be implemented across the entire country within the next seven days.

Speaking at a public rally in Kakdwip, West Bengal, Shantanu said, "The Ram mandir (temple) in Ayodhya has been inaugurated and within the next seven days, CAA will be implemented across the country. This is my guarantee. Not just in West Bengal; CAA would be implemented in every state of India within a week."

The CAA, passed in December 2019, grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan who migrated to India before December 2014. However, the act remains unimplemented due to the absence of necessary rules.

Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan are all Muslim-majority nations.

Shantanu, BJP's Lok Sabha MP from Bongaon bordering Bangladesh also said , despite repeated assurance from the West Bengal government, a large number of people belonging to the Matua community in the state have not been given voter IDs and multi-purpose Aadhaar cards.

"The chief minister of West Bengal repeatedly said those who migrated to India after 1971 (Bangladesh liberation war) and have voter IDs and Aadhaar cards are citizens of this country. But there are thousands of people here who have been denied voter ID cards. Is it because they belong to the Matua community and support the BJP? The state government is doing this to suit its political agenda. Those who have come here after 1971 need citizenship to secure their future generations. This is the reason why CAA must be implemented," said Shantanu.

Matuas belong to the Namasudra community whose members crossed over to India in large numbers, first during the 1947 Partition of the Indian subcontinent and then after the Bangladesh Liberation War.

Most of an estimated three crore Matuas in West Bengal live in the state's North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts which share borders with Bangladesh.

On December 27 last year, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah had said that no one can stop the implementation of the CAA as it is the law of the land.

The BJP has made implementing the CAA a key campaign promise in recent elections. However, the act faces strong opposition from West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress party, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, said Amit Shah.

The potential nationwide implementation of the CAA raises concerns, as its passage in 2019-2020 triggered nationwide protests and violence.

According to the annual report of the Indian home ministry for 2021-22, from April 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021, a total of 1,414 foreigners belonging to non-Muslim minority communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan were given Indian citizenship by registration or naturalisation under the Citizenship Act, 1955.

But the authorities of none of the districts of Assam and West Bengal have been given the powers so far.