No plans to conduct NRC exercise in Bengal, CAA to be implemented: Vijayvargiya

Countering opposition claims that the BJP if voted to power in Bengal will update the National Register of Citizens NRC thereby taking away the citizenship rights of people Kailash Vijayvargiya the saffron camps national general secretary on Sunday reaffirmed that no such plan is on the radarHe however stated that the party intends to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act CAA and provide rights to refugees who fled religious persecution in neighbouring countries and moved to IndiaWe are only looking forward to implementing the CAA after the elections as promised in the manifesto It is an important issue for us as we strive to grant citizenship to the persecuted refugees We do not have any plan of conducting the NRC exercise even if we win the elections he saidAccording to state BJP sources the new citizenship law will benefit more than 15 crore people in India including over 72 lakh in West BengalAccusing the TMC of running a disinformation campaign against the saffron camp the 64yearold leader wondered why the ruling party in the state is opposing the CAA which could be of benefit to manyBengal has a sizeable population of Matuas who had been migrating to the state since the 1950s primarily due to religious persecution The community with its three million members influences at least four Lok Sabha seats and 3040 assembly seats in Nadia North and South24 ParganasThe TMC hopes to politically exploit the confusion over CAA implementation to curry favour with the Matua community which had voted hands down in favour of the saffron camp in the 2019 Lok Sabha pollsTraining his guns on Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her assertion that the Election Commission was working at the behest of the BJP Vijayvargiya who is also the BJPs Bengal minder said it was an irony that the TMC boss pointed no finger at the poll panel when her party registered two successive electoral victoriesContending that Banerjees foolish claims will yield no result he said the TMC sensing defeat is leveling absurd allegations against the saffron partyMamata Banerjee never felt that the EC was acting partially when she won the polls The irony is that when you were winning the elections everything seems fine Once you start sensing defeat you blame the EC and the electronic voting machines he saidExuding confidence that the BJP will sweep the assembly elections with more than 200 seats in its kitty Vijayvargiya also downplayed insinuations that the party could be at a disadvantage for not having projected a chief ministerial face in Bengal and said several leaders are capable of taking the reins of the state and a decision would be taken only after the pollsWe are fighting the elections under Prime Minister Narendra Modis leadership We have never projected a CM face in pollbound states For us ideology is important Once voted to power the legislative party in consultation with the top leaders will decide on the CM candidate he saidIn an interview with PTI the BJPs Bengal minder further claimed that the people of the state are waiting to witness ashol poriborton real change as they have long endured infiltration woes corrupt practices and the politics of appeasementThe call for poriborton was first given by the TMC during the 2011 assembly polls as it sought to end the 34year Left rule in the stateSlamming the Mamata Banerjee camp over its outsider versus insider debate the BJPs chief strategist in Bengal said that the ruling party in the state has nothing better to talk about given its dismal performance in the last 10 yearsThe TMC has branded the BJP as a party of outsiders as its top leaders hail from other statesThe TMC wants to make an emotional appeal with its Bengal daughter campaign But I dont think Bengal would get swayed away by this This is 2021 and such issues dont have much of an impact As the party has no achievement in its bag it clings to this outsiderinsider debate he saidNoting that people are fed up with the TMCs syndicate culture appeasement politics and politicization and criminalisation of administration Vijayvargiya said corruption has percolated to the grassroots level and that has angered the people of the stateInsisting that the BJP is keen on securing Indias eastern borders which have turned into a transit point for terror elements he said infiltration is not just threatening national security but also taking a toll on the countrys economy as locals now have to compete with the illegal immigrants for jobsDismissing allegations that communal polarisation has reared its ugly head in Bengal with the growth of the BJP in the state the senior saffron camp leader said the TMCs appeasement politics was to blame for the rise in identity politics and his party once voted to power would put an end to this practiceAsked whether the rift between oldtimers and newcomers over ticket distribution has been reined in he said everyone in the party will have to abide by the rules and regulations laid down by the top brassDuring the last assembly polls we had difficulty finding suitable candidates for the 294 seats This time however there were as many as 5000 aspirants Thankfully everything is under controlWe have spoken to all workers and they are back working for the party We are a disciplined party but we also practise democracy and everyone has the right to express their views he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever