CAB is another trap like NRC to make legal citizens refugees, says Mamata

[caption id="attachment_283366" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Mamata Banerjee[/caption] Coochbehar (WB), Nov. 18 (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lashed out against the BJP government at the Centre on Monday for planning to introduce the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in Parliament and said the proposed legislation is a "trap" like the NRC to exclude Bengalis and Hindus as legal citizens of the country. The CAB, 2019 is expected to be introduced in the winter session of Parliament, which began Monday, as the previous one had lapsed as it was not tabled in the Rajya Sabha after being passed by Lok Sabha on January 8. She also criticised the Centre for failing to revive the Indian economy, Banerjee said the government is only interested in selling out PSUs like Air India instead of taking steps to revive it. "The Centre is planning to bring in CAB but let me tell you it is just another trap like the NRC. It is a trap to exclude Bengalis and Hindus from the list of legal citizens and make them refugees in their own countries," Banerjee sais. The bill seeks to provide Indian citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis and Buddhists from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after seven years of residence in India even if they do not possess any document. "After our government came to power we had taken steps to grant citizenship to refugees of enclaves in Coochbehar district. But we had never imposed any condition that they have to be in this country for six years," Banerjee said. The proposed implementation of National Register of Citizens in Bengal has turned into a flash point in West Bengal with the Trinamool Congress government vehemently opposing it. It had created a panic claiming 11 lives in the state following the omission of about 19.6 lakh names from the final NRC list in Assam. Majority of the names omitted from the list were allegedly those of Hindus and Bengali Hindus.

Arunachal to have a 'final' meeting with all stakeholders on CAB 

The Arunachal Pradesh Cabinet on Monday decided to have a final discussion with all the stakeholders on the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) before sending the state government's recommendation to the Centre, an official statement said here. The "final consultative meeting" on the issue will be held under the chairmanship of Home Minister Bamang Felix on Wednesday. The CAB is likely to be tabled in the Winter session of the Parliament. "Considering the sensitivity of the issue, it was decided to have a final discussion with all the stakeholders together and forward the recommendations to the Union Home Ministry," the statement issued by the cabinet secretary said. Chief Minister Pema Khandu convened Monday's special Cabinet meeting to discuss the report of the Consultative Committee on the CAB, which was submitted to the state government during the day. The consultative committee had held meetings with political parties, students' bodies and community based organisations to seek their opinions on the CAB and to prepare a comprehensive report on the issue. Felix had earlier said the views offered by these stakeholders would be taken into consideration before finalising the committee's recommendations to be submitted to the state government. The recommendations will be based on the provisions of the Constitution and various laws and rules that protect the interests of indigenous people of the state. The state government would present the recommendations to the Centre to ensure that adequate provisions are incorporated in the CAB to safeguard the interests of the people of the state, official sources said. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said on October 1 that Parliament will pass the CAB which will grant citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan after seven years of stay in the country even if they do not possess proper documents. However, indigenous people of the Northeastern states fear that entry of these people will endanger their identity and livelihood. During a meeting of the North East Democratic Alliance at Guwahati in September, Shah, also BJP president, had said the concerns of the North Eastern states will be incorporated in the CAB and has sought suggestions on the issue.