Can an MP be elected without being citizen? Derek O’Brien asks on BJP’s CAA promise to Matuas
BJP "buying time" on CAA with eye on Assembly elections, the Trinamool has alleged.
Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien on Thursday questioned the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Rajya Sabha on the issue of citizenship, concerning the Matua community.
The BJP has been promising the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to win over the Matua community in Bengal. However, over the past few months, Matua leaders, including the BJP MP Shantanu Thakur, have expressed anguish over the fact that the CAA has not yet been implemented in the state. Chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s position on this is very clear though. She has been saying that there is no need for another stamp of approval on those who are already citizens and that the BJP is trying to mislead the Matua people by pushing the CAA.
“If you are not a citizen, how can you be a minister, an MP?” asked O’Brien, adding that the BJP was trying to mislead the Matuas, a community of migrants from Bangladesh, with the promise of implementing the CAA.
On Tuesday, the Centre had said in the Parliament that it has given itself time till July 9, 2021 at least, to frame and implement rules relating to the CAA, amendments to which were passed in December 2019 amid chaos in the Parliament and protests across the country. In response to a question in Parliament on Tuesday, the Home Ministry said that the CAA had been in force since January 10, 2020, but rules were “under preparation”.
The Committees on Subordinate Legislation, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have granted extension of time up to April 9 and July 9, respectively, to frame these rules under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, the Home Ministry said.
Referring to this, the Trinamool Congress leaders have said that this is “simply buying time” as “the BJP doesn’t quite know whether a clear position on the CAA prior to the Assembly elections in Bengal may or may not work for all.”
Mamata Bala Thakur, former cabinet minister of the Trinamool, said that if the Matuas can be a part of parliamentary proceedings and can be elected as MP, questioning their citizenship cannot be not justified. On Tuesday, state minister Bratya Basu too, at a press conference had raised the same issue stating that they already hold various government documents like Aadhar card, ration card and have also been elected MP, all of which already proves their citizenship.
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