The advertisement, in which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee states that NRC and the citizenship law would not be implemented in West Bengal, is unconstitutional and a head of government can’t use public money for such campaigns, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Sunday.
The Trinamool Congress had released a television commercial where Ms Banerjee can be heard saying that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) would not be implemented in the State. “We will not implement any citizenship law, from CAA to NRC (National Registration of Citizens). If Central government passes an Act, it is not mandatory for the State to implement it. The State has to implement it and we will not do it,” she says in the commercial.
Ms. Banerjee appealed to the public to not take law into their hands. “Please do not block roads, it creates huge problem for the ordinary people which is unfortunate,” she said.
Mr. Dhankhar questioned the Chief Minister for using public money “to lead an agitation.” “The Chief Minister must withdraw the advertisement, (it is) a sickening concept. How can an elected head of a government use government money to give advertisement on television and newspapers (saying) that there will be no NRC, there will be no CAA; this is offensive,” he said.
The BJP has also threatened to move court against the Chief Minister. State BJP president Dilip Ghosh targeted the Chief Minister, saying that Ms. Banerjee was “protecting Bangladeshi extremist Muslims” who are orchestrating the violence.
