CAA will be implemented before Lok Sabha polls, says Union Minister Shantanu Thakur
New Delhi: Union Minister Shantanu Thakur on Monday reiterated Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which was passed by the Parliament in December 2019, will be implemented before the Lok Sabha elections.
On Shah's statement, Shantanu Thakur said, "He explained to us that this is a very necessary constitutional event, and it is important to implement it. We have to give shelter to people coming from across the border and settle them too. No provision will take away the citizenship of current citizens."
"The CAA will be implemented in such a way that there will be no role for state governments in it. They will not get any chance to create an environment of disturbance in the country," Thakur told ANI on Monday.
Earlier in February this year, Amit Shah said that the CAA will be notified and implemented before the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
The Union Minister said that there are no hurdles to implementing the CAA.
"CAA will be implemented before the Lok Sabha polls. There is no hurdle to implementing CAA. The rules for implementing the CAA will be issued soon, and the process to grant Indian nationality to the beneficiaries will start soon after," he said.
Thakur said that implementing CAA will not be delayed further and a method to complete the process faster is being discussed.
"CAA is already in the Constitution, now it just has to be implemented. It has to be implemented in the fastest way possible, and the Home Ministry has also thought about its process. If it is going to be done through the state, then it would never happen. The method that will be adopted will be done within a day. I have also spoken to the Home Minister many times in this regard and he has also assured that CAA will be implemented before the 2024 elections," he said.
"CAA is a very big and right decision taken by the Center and its positive result and impact will be reflected in the votes," the Union Minister added.
Thakur, who hails from North 24 Parganas' Bongaon in West Bengal, claimed that the Matua community in the region will vote in favour of the BJP.
"About 45 per cent of the Matua community lives in Bongaon constituency. If we talk about West Bengal, 1.5 crore voters are from the Matua community, and a total of 2 to 2.5 crore will get citizenship. These voters have full faith in the BJP because the Prime Minister has introduced these people to the world, by visiting Bangladesh and by coming to Bengal's Thakur Nagar. I believe that this introduction is a big thing. It was done by the BJP only; the Matua community will vote in favour of the BJP," he said.
Matuas are a Scheduled Caste group that trace their ancestry to East Bengal. Many of them entered West Bengal after partition and after the formation of Bangladesh.
Today, Matuas constitute the second-largest SC population in West Bengal. Mostly concentrated in North and South 24-Parganas, they also have a presence in other border districts such as Nadia, Howrah, Cooch Behar, and Malda.
Shantanu Thakur thanked PM Modi, Amit Shah, and senior leadership for the opportunity to contest the Lok Sabha polls.
"I will give my best. My constituency people are with me. The Prime Minister has asked to win 42 seats, so we are working hard in that regard. The Home Minister has also said that 35 seats is our target, we will take as many seats as our Prime Minister and Home Minister want. We are trying our best to win all the seats," Thakur said.
The CAA, introduced by the Narendra Modi government, aims to confer Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants, including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians, who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and arrived in India before December 31, 2014.
Following the passage of the CAA by Parliament in December 2019 and its subsequent presidential assent, significant protests erupted in various parts of the country.
Shantanu Thakur, a prominent leader of the Matua community, entered politics just before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He secured victory in the Bongaon (SC) Lok Sabha seat, which has a significant Matua population, by an impressive margin of 1,11,594 votes, capturing around 48 per cent of the total votes cast.
