Does Amit Shah Have His Father's Birth Certificate to Prove Citizenship: Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday pulled up the Assam government alleging that those left out of the National Register of Citizen (NRC) draft are being slapped with fake cases.

Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Mamata said, “They are being harassed by the Assam government and several people are already in detention camps. I would like to ask if the NRC process is peaceful, then why 400 companies of security forces are being stationed in Assam. BJP leaders are thumping their chest to justify this NRC.”

She said, “NRC is a citizenship issue and people were left out based on their language. Out of the 40 lakh people who were not included in the NRC list, 38 lakh are Bengali-speaking Hindu and Muslim people. What is their crime? Their crime is that they speak Bangla. They are doing this for vote bank politics.”

Coming down heavily on BJP president Amit Shah, she said, “I would like to ask Amit Shah whether he has citizenship documents of his father and mother. Back in the day, very few people used to have these documents. If tomorrow, Mahatma Gandhi’s family members fail to show his citizenship documents, then should we presume that he was not an Indian? BJP is dividing people for their vested political interests.”

While taking dig at the government, she further added, “Even cows should make their birth certificates, else they will also be asked to leave one day.”

Mamata’s sharp attack on Amit Shah comes after the BJP president, while addressing a huge gathering at Kolkata’s Mayo Road on August 11, made it clear that the BJP would make NRC and illegal infiltration one of their main poll planks in Bengal for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

He had said, “I would like to ask Mamata ji why she is protecting Bangladeshi infiltrators. We will go ahead with the NRC plan and will push back each and every infiltrator.”

Speaking on 'One Nation, One Election', Mamata said, “It is not practical. It may be applicable for local elections. Suppose tomorrow there is no stability and the central government falls, how will the state government and central government go for elections again?”

Ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal has vehemently opposed the ‘One Nation, One Poll’ idea as proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.