With the anti-CAA protests gaining momentum, West Bengal minister and state Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind chief Siddiqullah Chowdhury threatened to prevent union home minister Amit Shah from landing in Kolkata.
Chowdhury said they would not allow Amit Shah to step out of the airport whenever he visits Kolkata, if the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019 is not withdrawn with immediate effect.
The West Bengal library service minister said this while addressing an anti-CAA rally organized by the JamiatUlema-e-Hind at Rani Rasmoni Avenue on Sunday.
The minister said the new citizenship Act is against humanity and the citizens of the country who have been “living here for ages”.
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The CAA, 2019 seeks to grant Indian citizenship to any person belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian community from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, who entered into India on or before December 31, 2014.
A media report quoted Chowdhury as saying: “We may not allow him (Shah) to step out of the city airport if necessary. We may gather one lakh people there to stop him.”
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However, the minister urged the people, who attended the rally, to stage protest in a democratic and peaceful way.
He said they “don’t believe in violent protests” but vowed to oppose the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) “tooth and nail”.
Earlier union home minister announced that the NRC exercise would be carried out across the country after the passing of the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), 2019.
The CAB, 2019 was recently passed by both the Houses of the Parliament.
The CAB became an Act after President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the bill on December 12.
Amit Shah had announced that the NRC updating process would be carried out across the country in the line of the NRC which has been updated in Assam.
The final list of the updated NRC was published in Assam on August 31, 2019 with deletion of over 19 lakh names. But the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government continues to carry out the NRC update process in the state.
The anti-CAA protest, which originated in Assam, has spread to most of the parts in India.
Chowdhury said: “Just look at the ongoing protests all over the country, including in Kolkata.”