TMC to oppose CAB that is likely to be tabled in Parliament next week

Kolkata, Dec 05: The ruling Trinamool Congress on Thursday asserted that the party will oppose the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill which is likely to be placed in Parliament next week, and the implementation of the NRC exercise in the state.

TMC secretary general leader and state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee said the party will oppose NRC tooth and nail. "Our party supremo has said the party will never allow the NRC in West Bengal.

The CAB is against the basic principles of our Constitution. How can someone be given citizenship on the basis of religion?" Chatterjee said. He said the party is not in favour of division on the basis of religion, he said.

The CAB seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, in order to grant Indian nationality to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, who come to India due to religious persecution in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan even if they don't possess proper documents.

The indigenous people of the Northeastern states fear that the entry of these people will endanger their identity and livelihood. The publication of the final updated NRC (National Register of Citizens) in Assam, which left out 19.6 lakh people who allegedly include a large number of Hindus, has changed the political narrative of West Bengal, with the TMC appearing to be in an advantageous position over the BJP.

The BJP scored a duck in the by-elections held recently to three assembly seats, which were the saffron party's first electoral tussle with the TMC in the state since its impressive performance in the Lok Sabha polls.