West Bengal Governor lashes out at CM Mamata Banerjee, terms rally against CAA unconstitutional

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was passed from Parliament last week and became an Act with President Ram Nath Kovind giving his assent on November 12

Kolkata: With West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee opening a front against the Centre over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 as she is averse to its implementation in the state, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar is at loggerheads with her and has termed her protest and rally as an 'unconstitutional' act.

"@MamataOfficial. I am extremely anguished that CM and Ministers are to spearhead rally against CAA, the law of the land. This is unconstitutional. I call upon CM to desist from this unconstitutional and inflammatory act at this juncture and devote to retrieve the grim situation," tweeted Dhankar.

He also expressed his gratitude towards the section of society who have urged the protesters to shun violence.

"Gratitude to Intellectuals, filmmakers, actors and stage artists who urged protestors to shun violence. Hope others in such a category would similarly come forward. We are constitutionally obliged to follow the law of the land and as Governor enjoined to ensure it and am at it," he said in another tweet.

Dhankhar had on Sunday (December 15) urged West Bengal chief minister to withdraw advertisements showing that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will not be implemented in the state.

Amid protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 in several parts of West Bengal, internet services were suspended temporarily as a precautionary measure in some districts of West Bengal, sources said.

The internet was suspended in some parts of the districts of Uttar Dinajpur, Malda, Murshidabad, Howrah, North 24 Parganas (Basirhat and Barasat subdivisions) and South 24 Parganas (Baruipur and Canning subdivisions).

The Act seeks to grant Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.