West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said she would not allow the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act in her state "under any circumstances" as she announced a series of rallies across the state to protest the contentious law.
Addressing a press meet Digha, Banerjee, who is also the TMC supremo, said the saffron party can't bulldoze the states to implement the law.
Expressing solidarity with the people of Assam and the Northeast, where violent protests have been raging over the issue for the past few days, she blamed the BJP government at the Centre for the growing tension and the deteriorating law and order situation in the region.
"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.
The TMC said the party would organise three rallies from December 16. The first will begin near the statue of Dr BR Ambedkar in Kolkata and end at Jorasanko. “Didi will walk in the rally,” the party tweeted.
Iterating that her fight against the amended Act was the "second war of independence", Banerjee said she would hit the streets to seek its revocation. The chief minister also stressed that her government would not cooperate with the Centre for enacting the "divisive and draconian" law.
"In a democracy, even if you have majority in terms of numbers in Parliament, it doesn't mean you can impose your views. The essence of democracy lies in building consensus, taking everybody along," she asserted.
While 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," she asserted.
Referring to Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's scheduled visit to Assam, Banerjee said it would be a "blot" on the country's reputation if he scrapped the plan, amid protests across Northeast.
Abe has postponed 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.
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