The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
PM-CM showdown in Bengal
Opp is spreading lies on CAA... giving citizenship is Modi’s guarantee: PM
IN A bid to dispel apprehensions among the Matua and Rajbanshi communities over the recently notified Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday accusedtheoppositionof“misleading people with misinformation” and said it was “Modi’s guarantee to provide citizenship to those who have faith in Maa Bharati”.
Addressing a rally at Cooch Behar town’s Rash Mela Ground ahead of the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, the prime minister targeted the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in West Bengal, accusing it of being “corrupt” and “anti-development”.
“The INDI alliance of TMC, Left, and Congress never cared for Rajbanshi, Namasudra, and Matua communities. Their only intention is to mislead people. Now that we have brought CAA, they are spreading rumours and lies. It is Modi ki guarantee (Modi’s guarantee) to provide citizenship to those who have faith in Maa Bharati... You can put your faith in my government," Modi said, alluding to the opposition to the CAA by the TMC, Left Front and the Congress.
After the rules for the CAA, which was passed in 2019, were notified just before the dates for the Lok Sabha elections were announced last month, TMC supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had urged the Matua community and others not to apply for citizenship under the Act, saying they would be “marked as refugees and infiltrators” and “deprived of government schemes” if they did. She also claimed that the CAA was a ploy to take up a National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise in the future.
Matua Mahasangha, the largest organisation of the Matua community in West Bengal, also urged community members to wait until the new Central government is formed in Delhi, saying the CAA rules lacked clarity.
According to the CAA, the government will start granting
Indian nationality to persecuted non-muslim migrants — Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians — from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014.
Matuas belong to the Scheduled Caste Namasudra community that migrated to India in large numbers, first during the Partition, and then after the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Most of the 3 crore Matuas in West Bengal live in the North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts. However, a large number of people belonging to the Matua community also live in Purba Bardhaman, South 24 Parganas and Cooch Behar districts.
Prime Minister Modi, who spoke soon after TMC chief Mamata Banerjee addressed a rally in the same town, also targeted her party on corruption and said that he has resolved to put an end to it in West Bengal.
“Bundles of cash were recovered from houses of TMC leaders. They want to protect the leaders who stole people's jobs. Their (TMC) only job is to say bad things about Modi. They want corruption and violence to go on. Modi says 'end corruption and atrocities'. But they say 'save corruption'. But Modi will not sleep until corrupt leaders are not punished," he said.
"In the next five years, strong action will be taken against those who indulge in corruption. In this election, a strong message needs to be sent to the TMC.
Corruption and violence must end at any cost," the PM added.
“What happened in the last 10 years was just a trailer. Now, we have to do a lot of work to take the country forward. We have to take Bengal forward. For Bengal's development, the BJP needs to gain strength,” he said.
Referring to recent incidents in Sandeshkhali, where allegations of sexual abuse against TMC leaders surfaced, Modi criticised the TMC government for its alleged apathy towards the victims. “It is only the BJP that can put an end to the atrocities that women face in Bengal. The entire country has seen how the TMC fought tooth and nail to save the culprits of the Sandeshkhali incident. What happened to the women of Sandeshkhali was a result of TMC'S misrule... The BJP has taken a pledge to punish the offenders at any cost. The culprits of Sandeshkhali will spend their lives in jail... For that you have to vote for the BJP here," Modi said.
Claiming that the Opposition INDIA bloc parties quarrel among themselves in the state but stand united in Delhi, Modi said that to become the world's third-largest economy, the country needs “a stable government”.
This was Modi's first election rally in West Bengal after the dates for the Lok Sabha polls were announced by the Election Commission on March 16.
Cooch Behar votes in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 19.