Kolkata: A day after ridiculing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, chief minister Mamata Banerjee trained her guns on Union home minister Amit Shah, the virtually number 2 in the Central government, for his statement on Tuesday about the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens.
Tearing into him for his bold statement, the Trinamul Congress supremo advised the BJP president to fire-fight instead of “setting the country on fire” after leading her protest march from Howrah to Esplanade for the third consecutive day in the city. She even wondered if the “BJP amulet” would give the validity to live in the country before she predicted of the saffron party turning the country into a “detention centre”.
Sending a strong message to Mr Shah on Wednesday, the Trinamul chief told the rally, “I will make one request to the Union home minister. Please remember, you are the home minister of the country. Setting the country on fire is not your job. Dousing the fire in the country is your task. It is my appeal to you with folded hands”.
The West Bengal chief minister questioned the Union home minister over his eagerness to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act even as large parts of the country were facing violent protests.
Ms Banerjee also doubted the utility of Aadhar Cards to ascertain citizenship. Questioning Mr Shah, she said, “Why are you asserting that the Aadhaar Cards will be of no use? If so, what was Aadhaar Card made for? When the home minister of a country makes a statement in public, Aadhar Card would not be useful then why were Rs 6,000 crores spent after it?”
She further added, "Why was Aadhar Cards linked with bank accounts and passports when it will be invalid? Why is the income tax there if PAN will be invalid? Even Voter ID would be invalid! Our governments are in power because of voters. If the voter list, Aadhaar Card and PAN will be invalid, will it be the BJP amulet which will work?”
