Addressing a meeting for the BJP candidate in West Bengal’s Murshidabad, Singh said, “We have made a law to give citizenship to those who have been persecuted in countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan for their religion. But Mamata Banerjee won’t let it be implemented… The BJP is coming to power in the state. We will introduce the Citizenship Act. No power in the world can stop its implementation,” he said.
Singh also claimed that the BJP will get more than 30 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal this time.
Incidentally, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had recently claimed in a public meeting in Murshidabad that she will not allow CAA or NRC to be implemented in the state.
During Sunday’s meeting, the defence minister also criticised the Bengal chief minister for playing ‘communal politics’.
“Bengal was once famous for its education, and culture but was now getting a bad name for communalism,” he said in an apparent reference to the incident of unrest in Murshidabad’s Shaktipur during the Ram Navami celebrations.
Moreover, Singh also raised the Sandeshkhali issue to take a swipe at the Trinamool Congress-led government over the law-and-order situation in the state.
Meanwhile, CM Banerjee hit back at the BJP from a poll rally in Balurghat.
She said, “The BJP has sold the country… Your MPs sleep in AC rooms. They don’t talk with or meet people. Your government does not pay its dues to Bengal under the 100-day job guarantee scheme.”
The CM then asked those present at the rally, “Will you vote for people who deprive Bengal?”
Banerjee also raised the CAA issue. “Don’t apply for CAA. If you do, it will make you a foreigner. No matter what, I will not let NRC and CAA get implemented here. Who are they to say that you are not a citizen or what you should eat or not?” the TMC supremo quipped.
“They have the audacity to decide what people would eat. Not everyone has to eat non-vegetarian food… Vegetarian food costs more than non-vegetarian food. So, 80 per cent of people in India eat non-vegetarian food. Those who eat meat, let them eat. Who are you to interfere with?” she added while campaigning in Balurghat for the second phase of Lok Sabha polls.
Voting for the Balurghat and the Murshidabad seats will be held on April 26 and May 7, respectively.