NRC a lollipop, CAB bigger lollipop, says Trinamool

Read | Amit Shah invokes ‘Partition on basis of religion’ to defend Bill

Describing the NRC as a “failed, botched up” process, Banerjee said: “NRC was a trap, CAB is a bigger trap…if religious persecution is the criteria then anyone facing that should be considered for citizenship. Why leave out Sri Lanka? And Myanmar which was actually a part of British India? This is actually a bigger jumla than NRC.”

Banerjee took potshots at the government recounting the list of people who had died in West Bengal following talk of NRC and how “ministers will be left embarrassed if asked to produce documents on their education.” The Bill, he said, is against Hindus because it seeks to create divisions between people who have the same language, culture and traditions.

Mamata: Citizenship can never be granted on basis of religion

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said citizenship can never be granted on the basis of religion in a secular country like India.

Referring to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, Banerjee said, “It’s a divisive Bill and should be opposed at any cost. In a secular country like India, citizenship can never be accorded on the basis of religion.”

Reiterating that both the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and CAB are two sides of a coin, she assured the gathering that these will be never allowed in Bengal as long as the TMC is in power. “They can’t just throw out a legal citizen of this country or turn him/her a refugee,” Banerjee said.