Rajib Banerjee joins rally as hundreds of Hindu priests take to the streets against CAA & NRC

Kolkata: Esplanade, the heart of the city, witnessed a unique movement against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), as thousands of Hindu priests took to the streets to register their protest.

State Forest minister Rajib Banerjee extended solidarity to their protest and took part in the rally that started from Rani Rashmoni Avenue and ended at Gandhi statue on Mayo Road.

The Hindu priests, under the banner of 'Paschim Banga Sanatan Brahmin Trust', assembled at the foot of the statue and raised slogans against CAA and NRC, demanding that peace should prevail in both the state and the country.

Banerjee, who is also an MLA of Trinamool Congress from Domjur in Howrah, said that the Centre is trying to divide people on religious lines through CAA and NRC.

"India is a country which boasts of its unity and diversity. Here greats like Rabindranath Tagore and Swami Vivekananda had preached about the inclusive nature of Indian society. So we are against any force that is trying to create divisions among different communities. The priests too are concerned and so they have taken to the streets," he said.

Banerjee added that everybody is in a dilemma about what would happen next, as even Hindus have been excluded from the citizens' list with the NRC exercise in Assam.

Sridhar Mishra, who is the general secretary of the trust, said: "It is unfortunate and a matter of great concern as a particular political party is

trying to divide the country on the basis of religion. The CAA and the NRC are aimed at excluding people of a particular community. If one community is targeted like this, it might also be inflicted on us some day."

Mishra claimed that representatives of the trust from all the districts have taken part in the protest programme. The trust has over 2.73 lakh members registered under it.