Union Minister of State and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shantanu Thakur said on Sunday that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) would be implemented in every state of India within a week.
Speaking at a public rally in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas on Sunday, Minister of State of Ports, Shipping & Waterways Shantanu Thakur said that Ram Mandir has been inaugurated in Ayodhya and within the next seven days, the CAA will also be implemented across the country.
"Provided that any person belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian community from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, who entered into India on or before the 31st day of December, 2014 and who has been exempted by the Central Government by or under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 or from the application of the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946 or any rule or order made thereunder, shall not be treated as illegal migrant for the purposes of this Act," as mentioned in the Gazette of India.
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The passage of CAA by Parliament in December 2019 sparked massive protests in parts of the country.
Last year, Home Minister Amit Shah had said that no one can stop the implementation of the CAA as it is the law of the land. Among the many opponents of CAA, one is West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee, who Shah has accused of "misleading people" on the issue.
Implementation of CAA was a major poll plank of the BJP in the last Lok Sabha election and the Assembly polls in West Bengal in 2021.
(With PTI inputs)
