HT Correspondent
AGARTALA, Sept 6: CPIM Politburo member and Tripura Leader of Opposition Jitendra Chaudhury on Saturday strongly criticized the Union Home Ministry’s decision to extend the cut-off date of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), calling it a conspiracy by the ruling BJP to divide the people on religious lines.
Chaudhury argued that the CAA is “not in accordance with the Constitution,” since no law in the country can be based on religion.
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“The BJP is conspiring to further widen the path of division by enacting extra-constitutional laws,” he said.
According to him, the Home Ministry’s latest notification, which exempts refugees from the requirement of valid travel documents, effectively pushes the cut-off date for eligibility from December 31, 2014 to the end of 2024.
“This means even those entering India without valid documents till 2024 will not be considered criminals. The cut-off date has been extended only to influence the coming elections,” he alleged.
Chaudhury further claimed that infiltration has historically taken place in Tripura and continues despite the deployment of the BSF and fencing along the Indo-Bangladesh border.
“Employees of various government departments are even issuing documents to infiltrators in exchange for money. Instead of taking action, the Home Ministry is extending the CAA cut-off by 10 years. This will make it impossible to identify infiltrators in the future,” he said.
Calling the Act a threat to social harmony, Chaudhury urged people to unite in demanding the immediate repeal of the CAA. “Otherwise, division among the people will only deepen,” he warned.
