Reconsider decision on CAA, NRC: Mamata requests Modi
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged him to withdraw the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR).
Banerjee also urged Modi to release funds worth Rs 28,000 crore that the Centre still owes to the state besides requesting him to release Rs 7,000 crore to cover the damages caused by Cyclone Bulbul that had hit the state during November last year.
"I have told the Prime Minister that the people in Bengal are against the CAA, NRC and NPR. We are, in fact, against any religion-based citizenship. I have requested him to reconsider and have made it clear that we want both CAA and NRC to be withdrawn," she told reporters after her meeting.
Banerjee added that Modi told her that he is here for other programmes and has asked her to come to Delhi for a meeting.
The Prime Minister is on a two-day visit to Kolkata during which he will take part in the 150th-anniversary celebrations of the Kolkata Port Trust on Sunday in which the Chief Minister is expected to share the stage with him.
The meeting assumes significance as the new citizenship law has emerged as the latest flashpoint in the state. Banerjee's Trinamool Congress is opposing the contentious legislation tooth and nail and the BJP is pressing for its implementation.
The interaction between the two leaders comes just two days after Banerjee had on Thursday said in the state Assembly that she would boycott an Opposition meeting called by Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on January 13 over the JNU violence, the Citizenship Amendment Act and other "anti- people" policies of the Centre.
The Prime Minister arrived at the NSCBI Airport by an Indian Air Force aircraft at 3:20 pm and was flown off by an IANF helicopter to the Race Course Maidan by the Special Protection Group in-charge of the Prime Minister's security.
Dedicating to the nation four refurbished British-era buildings of the city, Modi on Saturday said the rich heritage of the country will be presented before the world.
The Prime Minister on Saturday inaugurated an interactive light and sound show at the iconic Howrah Bridge — Rabindra Setu — through a glittering programme held in the picturesque Millennium Park on the banks of the Hooghly.
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Union Minister of Shipping (Independent charge) Mansukh Mandaviya were among those who attended the function.
He has expressed "a desire to spend time at the Ramkrishna Mission for a meditation session on Sunday, which will mark the birth anniversary of saint-philosopher Swami Vivekananda."
On Sunday at around 11 am, the Prime Minister will address a Kolkata Port Trust (KPT) event at Netaji Indoor Stadium and leave the city at around 12.45 pm.
