BJP can't bulldoze states to implement amended Citizenship Act, says Mamata Banerjee

Digha (WB), Dec 13: Lashing out at the BJP-led central government over the amended Citizenship Act, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said she would not allow its implementation in the state "under any circumstances".

Addressing a press meet here, Banerjee, who is also the TMC supremo, said the saffron party can't bulldoze the states to implement the law. "We will never allow NRC exercise and Citizenship Act in Bengal. We will not implement the amended Act, even though it has been passed in Parliament. The BJP can't just bulldoze the states to implement it," Banerjee said.

Announcing a series of protest programmes across the state, the CM also said that she has cancelled her visit to Delhi to attend a meeting on the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi. "The Citizenship Act will divide India. As long as we are in power, not a single person in the state will have to leave the country," the chief minister added.

Referring to Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's scheduled visit to Assam, Banerjee said it would be a "blot" on the country's reputation if he scraps the plan, amid protests over the Citizenship Act across Northeast. According to a media report in Japan's capital Tokyo, Abe is might cancel his three-day trip to India for annual summit talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, from December 15-17, due to the deteriorating security situation in Guwahati, the planned venue of the meeting.