Will use the CAA to refute TMC’s claims: WB union minister

BONGAON/MALDA: Shantanu Thakur, a junior Union minister and Bongaon MP, announced he would apply for citizenship under CAA rules in order to refute the TMC’s “wilful misinformation” about it. This decision was made in response to the unrest that has been spreading in Matua-dominated pockets of Bengal, specifically directed against Schedule 1A of the CAA notification, which requests Bangladeshi documents in order to apply for Indian citizenship.

Late on Saturday, Thakur made his speech against the background of intermittent demonstrations by Matua groups in Chakdah, Nadia, on March 14 and threats of further protests by the Sara Bharat Matua Mahasangha (SBMM) Malda section.
“I will apply for citizenship under CAA,” said Thakur. But I was unable to do it either. My grandfather’s card of Indian citizenship was with him. He had also moved. I will only take this action to refute the irrational assertions being made.
A scathing anti-CAA campaign has been begun by Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her party, the TMC. They claim that registering for citizenship under the CAA again would exclude individuals from current Aadhaar-linked social initiatives and have an effect on their everyday lives by making all of their current IDs unusable.
Banerjee has further said that CAA and NRC are related.
“Any information provided in Schedule 1A regarding Bangladeshi documents is intended to prevent terrorist organisations from using it to grant Indian citizenship to any individual.” These official papers from Bangladesh can aid in proving that a person is clean. If you don’t have it, you need to get a verified written undertaking from an organisation that is registered, according to Thakur.