Our slogan is 'no CAB, no NRC' in West Bengal, says Mamata Banerjee at rally against Citizenship Act

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday accused the ruling BJP of passing the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) without consultation in the Parliament and reiterated that the NRC and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will not be implemented in the state.

"Our slogan is 'No CAB, No NRC' in Bengal", Banerjee said during a rally against the CAA and National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Jadavpur.

"The Bill was passed in the Parliament without any consultation. You cannot make out the religion of a person through their dress," she added.

Banerjee condemned the violence that erupted in the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), alleging that the police brutally tortured the innocent students, which she said was "intolerable".

"There is no end to conspiracies by the BJP. They discreetly light fires in the country. If you come across such fires, douse them immediately. We will not initiate violence," she said.

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She told the protesters to create badges with the slogan 'No CAB, No NRC' to signify the protest against the amended citizenship law and the proposed NRC exercise.

On Monday, the Chief Minister had spearheaded a protest march in Kolkata against the CAA and the NRC.

This came amid protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 in several parts of West Bengal.

The Act seeks to grant Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.