'Why haven't CAA Rules been framed yet?': Asks TMC's Shashi Panja in response to Amit Shah's push

"They have a larger number of MPs, so they made the law. Why have the Rules under this law not been formed? The date for framing the Rules is being delayed even today. The attempt to frame the Rules has taken place nine times. They (central government) are saying that the Rules will be in place in 2024," TMC leader and State Women and Child Development Minister, Shashi Panja, said while speaking to ANI.

Panja said that when the Citizenship Amendment Act was being passed in Parliament, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had asked for an all-party meeting on the legislation and not to rush it.

"When the law was being framed, Mamata Banerjee had said that there should be a discussion on CAA among all the parties and there should not be a hurry regarding CAA," the Minister said.

Panja said that Amit Shah's harping back at the Citizenship Amendment Act after a long pause is a "carrot and the stick" policy just to get votes before the Lok Sabha election.

"This is a carrot and a stick. They are trying to get a few seats before the elections by hanging it (carrot) in front of you. The reality is that if they had the intention of implementing it, they should have already framed the Rules," the Minister said.

Amit Shah in his address said that the CAA is the "country's law" and the Narendra Modi-led Central government is going to implement it at any cost.

"Citizenship (Amendment) Act is the country's law, no one can stop it and we will implement it," Amit Shah said.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 aims to facilitate the grant of citizenship to migrants belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 was notified on December 12 and came into force on January 10 in 2020. (ANI)