CM Mamata Banerjee terms NRC poll gimmick, says won’t allow it in Bengal

Kolkata: Describing the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship Ammendment Bill as “electoral gimmicks” by the Modi government ahead of the Lok Sabha polls chief minister Mamata Banerjee has vowed to oppose them tooth and nail against their implementation in West Bengal.

Addressing ‘Khelashree’ programme at Netaji Indoor Stadium on Monday she said, “There is no reason to throw out the people from West Bengal by playing with the sentiment. Till we survive, we will share our bread with others. But we will not like those who throw out others. We move ahead alongwith others. This is our beauty.”

Lashing out at the Modi government over the citizenship issues, Ms Banerjee added, Those who are the citizens of this country, they are indeed citizens of India. Do not try to prove them as foreigners on the pretext of asking them to prove their citizenship for the second time. Citizenship is a one-time affair.”

She elaborated, “We are citizens of this country. We cast our votes. We have our accounts in banks. All of us have studied and have been employed.” The Trinamul Congress supremo maintained that availability of the birth certificates of the people of her generation and their parents can not determine their citizenships.

She continued, “If you can not submit your birth certificate you will be thrown out according to the NRC. This has been in practice now in our country. They have hired theories from somewhere to throw some people and gift citizenships to others! It looks as if we are waiting to get our citizenships.”

Lambasting the BJP government Ms Banerjee wondered, “We have been born on this soil, have grown up on it and worked on it. Who are they to give us citizenships? Their theory of citizenship is to become foreigners for six years first. Then they will give citizenship. In the process one will lose own status on both sides.”

She added, “So these are all election gimmicks. There is no truth in it. Do not worry about it. There is no gain by intimidating us on these issues till we exist. It is not going to happen here. If anything happens to me, someone else will stand up and then the other. So it is not going to be easy.”

Ms Banerjee also complained that the clubs have stopped receiving sponsors in fear of getting hounded by the central agencies for details. Around 4,300 clubs were given ~ 2 lakhs each at the event. With an eye on the upcoming general elections Ms Banerjee announced that her government would provide ~ 1 lakh as grant to each of the 221 sports coaching centres in the state.