'Told PM to withdraw CAA,' says Mamata Banerjee, heads to Kolkata dharna minutes after meeting Narendra Modi at Raj Bhavan

Minutes after holding a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata on Saturday, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee arrived at a sit-in organised by Trinamool Congress students' wing against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019 and the proposed National Register for Citizens (NRC).

Taking centre stage among the agitating students who raised slogans against the amended Citizenship Act and the NRC, the TMC supremo said that she told the prime minister that the CAA will not be implemented in West Bengal.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Raj Bhavan in Kolkata. Image Courtesy: DD News

"We do not accept the notification issued by the government," she told demonstrators at the Rani Rashmoni Road in Kolkata, a few metres away from Raj Bhavan.

"The CAA is anti-constitutional. We can't allow citizenship based on religion. The CAA notification will be only on paper, it will never be implemented. We would not allow it," Banerjee said during a dharna against CAA. "We do not accept NRC. We do not accept CAA," she reiterated.

Banerjee also said that the peaceful movement against CAA and NRC will continue in West Bengal. Earlier, during a one-on-one meeting with Modi, Banerjee demanded that both the CAA and NRC should be withdrawn.

"While speaking to Prime Minister, I told him that we are against CAA, National Population Register and NRC. We want that CAA and NRC should be withdrawn," Banerjee informed media persons immediately after her meeting with the prime minister at the Raj Bhavan. She said the Prime Minister assured her that "he will look into the matter."

The meeting assumes importance as it is the first between the two leaders since protests erupted over the Citizenship Amendment Act in various cities across the country. The Trinamool Congress chief is at loggerheads with the BJP-led government over the Citizenship Amendment Act and she led several protests against CAA and NPR in her state.

However, she decided to stay away from the 13 January meeting of the Opposition parties convened by the Congress to protest against the Act over the "violence" by the Left and the Congress during the 24-hour general strike on Wednesday. During the meeting, Banerjee said she also raised concerns about the funds allocated by the Centre concerning 'Cyclone Bulbul' that hit the state in November that have not yet been disbursed.

With inputs from agencies



from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/2FEeLDM
FP Staff

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