NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday said that no “Hindu” refugee would lose citizenship in West Bengal, while criticising the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government of opposing Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The state is set to go to polls this year, and infiltration remains one of the key political flashpoints, setting the stage for a heated contest between BJP and TMC.“They opposed the CAA. If Mamata Banerjee had not opposed the CAA, each and every Bangladeshi refugee would have got citizenship. But I have come to tell all the Hindu refugees that you don’t have to worry. The BJP government is here for you. Not a single Hindu refugee is going to lose their citizenship,” Shah said addressing a gathering at the ‘Parivartan Yatra Sabha’ in Mathurapur.
He highlighted the Babri Masjid issue, and called Mamata’s move to remove Humayun Kabir, who has promised to built the mosque in the state, a “conspiracy”.“Mamata Didi, in your Bengal, the Babri Mosque is being built again. Whose responsibility is it? Should the Babri Mosque be built again? Humayun Kabir and Mamata are the same. Mamata Banerjee has conspired to send Humayun Kabir out of the party and build the Babri Mosque, so that Hindus do not get angry,” Shah said.He accused TMC government of doing “appeasement politics” by promising to built temple. “They filled Bengal with infiltrators because they see their vote bank in it. Apart from appeasement, Didi does nothing. Now they are thinking of building a temple. Mamata Didi, we have built the Ram Mandir. We built the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor and the Mahakaal Corridor. You did nothing at that time. Now, you wanted to make the temple. The people of Bengal will not be deceived by you. But I welcome the building of a temple despite the purpose behind it,” he said.The Parivartan Yatra is a large-scale, state-wide outreach drive in the run-up to the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. It is slated to span more than 5,000 kilometres, featuring 63 major public meetings and 282 smaller events, and will conclude with a mega rally at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground to be addressed by PM Narendra Modi.
