In the urban expanse of Kolkata, the venerable BJP luminary, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, asserted on Tuesday a sanguine conviction that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will be effectuated antecedent to the impending Lok Sabha elections. In dialogue with PTI, the erstwhile Chief Executive of Madhya Pradesh accentuated that the CAA’s primary objective is the conferral of citizenship rather than its revocation, disavowing contentions proffered by certain opposition factions.
Chouhan articulated, “My certainty rests in the imminent implementation of CAA preceding the Lok Sabha polls. This legislative measure is of paramount importance. Repeated elucidations underscore that this statute is not adversarial but is centered around conferring citizenship to brethren and sisters hailing from neighboring nations, who sought refuge from religious persecution.”
This pronouncement emerges against the backdrop of earlier indications this month suggesting the promulgation of regulations for the legislation “considerably in advance” of the Lok Sabha elections announcement. Enacted by the BJP-led administration in 2019, the CAA endeavors to bestow Indian citizenship upon persecuted migrants of non-Muslim denominations, encompassing Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, who crossed the Indian borders before December 31, 2014.
The commitment to execute the contentious CAA functioned as a pivotal electoral platform for the BJP during the antecedent Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in West Bengal. Party leaders contend it played a decisive role in the BJP’s ascension in the state. Tasked with supervising the organization of the Howrah cluster’s two Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, Chouhan exuded assurance in achieving the objective of securing 35 Lok Sabha seats from the state.
“In Bengal, a regime of cut, commission, and corruption prevails, causing disillusionment among the state’s populace with the misgovernance of the TMC. Previously, from two seats, we clinched 18 seats; this time, we are poised to secure 35 plus seats from the state,” he conveyed to PTI. In the 2019 elections, TMC secured 22 seats, Congress clinched two, and the BJP bagged 18 seats in the state.
Castigating the state government for the recent tumult in Sandeshkhali, Chouhan remarked, “The revelations emanating from Sandeshkhali are spine-chilling. The state administration permitted such egregious events to unfold.” Demonstrations persisted for the sixth consecutive day in Sandeshkhali, with a substantial number of women taking to the streets, demanding the apprehension of TMC leader Sheikh Shajahan and his alleged “cabal.” Allegations include coercive land acquisition and sexual harassment of women.
Chouhan also censured Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for the ongoing ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra,’ questioning the silence of Congress leaders on the Sandeshkhali issue. “While the Congress undertakes Nyay Yatra, why the reticence on the Anyay (injustice) in Sandeshkhali? This is a glaring double standard exposed within the Congress ranks,” he asserted.
Deriding the Congress for the disintegration of the opposition bloc INDIA, following the defection of two allies to the NDA, Chouhan quipped, “The INDIA bloc was an amalgamation devoid of any ideological coherence, making its fragmentation inevitable.” He further queried, “Why should the populace repose trust in Congress or its INDIA bloc when there is a dearth of ideological conviction? It is now collapsing like a deck of cards, with erstwhile allies forsaking it,” alluding to JD(U) and RLD, which severed ties with the opposition front to join the BJP-led NDA.
“Even Mamata Banerjee challenged Congress to secure a minimum of 40 seats. The citizens of this nation place their trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the developmental endeavors undertaken by the BJP over the past decade,” he concluded. While the CPI(M), Congress, and TMC constitute the opposition bloc INDIA in West Bengal, the grand old party has forged an alliance with the CPI(M) against TMC and BJP. The TMC recently declared its decision to contest the Lok Sabha polls independently in the state.
