Published 10:06 IST, December 17th 2019
West Bengal Governor Dhankhar reassures people on CAA, appeals for peace and unity
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar reassured people about the provisions of the Citizenship Amendment Act, stating that it did not affect any Indian citizen
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West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday reassured people about the provisions of the Citizenship Amendment Act. He emphasised that it had “no impact” on any citizen of the country. Describing it as a “balm” for the persecuted people outside India, he called upon everyone to maintain peace, unity, and brotherhood. This statement comes amid West Bengal witnessing violent protests since the passage of the CAA.
Citizenship Amendment Act has NO IMPACT WHATSOEVER ON ANY CITIZEN OF INDIA and none has anything to worry regarding this act. It is balm to those who have faced years of persecution outside, have no other place to go except India.I APPEAL all to maintain peace, unity,brotherhood.
— Jagdeep Dhankhar (@jdhankhar1) December 17, 2019
Governor to meet CM
Angry mobs have vandalised public property resulting in incidents such as the burning of a train at Murshidabad’s Krishnapur railway station and the vandalization of buses on Kona Expressway in Howrah. Both the Chief Minister as well as the Governor have strongly condemned the violence. Later in the day, Governor Dhankhar is set to meet West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. The Governor expressed optimism that all concerns would be addressed in the meeting.
.@MamataOfficial. I am optimistic that my meeting with Hon’ble CM today will address all her concerns and would also be enlightened by her point of view. Dialogue and communication at our level must take precedence as it is quintessence of spirit of Constitution we all follow.
— Jagdeep Dhankhar (@jdhankhar1) December 17, 2019
What is the CAA?
The CAA seeks to provide citizenship to the minority communities namely Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. This will be applicable to the members of these communities having arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014. Moreover, they will not be considered as illegal migrants. Additionally, the mandatory residence period for naturalised citizenship for these communities has been reduced to 5 years. The opposition contends that the Act discriminates on the basis of religion, which might go against Article 14, which guarantees the right to equality.
09:20 IST, December 17th 2019