The Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) that was passed in both houses of Parliament earlier this week received Presidential assent on Thursday making it a law. Ever since the passage of the bill, violent protests have broken out in various parts of the country. The North-East, in particular, has seen tremendous violence which has now spread to neighbouring Bengal, Delhi, Western UP and other parts of the country.

While the concerns of North-East are understandable because it is an ethnically sensitive region, protests in Bengal seem to be orchestrated. CAB will benefit Bengalis who have fled religious persecution in Bangladesh the most, so one would expect fellow Bengalis to welcome the bill. But Islamist fanatics view things differently – for them strengthening the global ummah comes before nation & everything else.

Many parts of Bengal have seen violence and large scale arson perpetrated by Muslims following Friday prayers. What emboldens them is the overt support of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who has vehemently opposed the bill and announced that she and her party TMC (Trinamool Congress) will not allow implementation of CAB in Bengal. This is not the first instance (neither will it be the last until vote bank politics pays off!!!) that Mamata has shown ‘mamata’ (motherly affection) for Bangladeshis.

Yesterday, W. Bengal administration generously allowed a particular community licence to disrupt normal life. At the same time, all demonstrations in support of CAB are being denied permission citing ‘law & order’ constraints.

— Swapan Dasgupta (@swapan55) December 14, 2019

These protests have seen huge damages to public properties all over Bengal. Part of Beldanga railway station in Murshidabad district was set on fire by a rampaging mob. Besides this, trains and roads were also blocked disrupting normal life and causing misery to general public. Police officials have stated that rural Howrah and Murshidabad have seen instances of violence.

These protests bore all the signature traits of Muslim mob violence often witnessed in the country. Right from stone pelting to blocking roads and railways and setting public properties on fire; the mobs left no stone unturned to cause as much damage to life and property as possible. One harrowed passenger aboard the Howrah-Chennai Central Coromandel Express detailed his terrifying experience when a mob with boys as young as 7 or 8 (reminded of Kashmir?) carrying rods and stones attacked the train smashing the windows. Even the train driver was injured and the station had turned into a war zone.

Mamata Banerjee’s current stance is nothing but the worst form of vote bank politics and hypocrisy at its best. It was Mamata Banerjee who in 2005 had accused the then left government of sheltering illegal migrants from Bangladesh and said that the state government had done nothing despite the fact that these illegal immigrants were even a part of the voter’s list. But today, she is opposing CAB only and only because her ‘vote bank’ will be lost.

The protests by Muslim organizations were pre-planned and the administration should have been better prepared rather than being mute spectators watching public property being destroyed. Social Media (SM) users condemned the violence and called for strict punishment to the vandals.

As stated earlier North-East being ethnically sensitive has genuine concerns which both PM Modi as well as HM Amit Shah promised to address. WB, on the other hand, has no such concerns, and if anything all Bengalis should welcome this move. But sadly ‘ghuspaityes’ become Mamata’s concern because electoral gains seem to be more important to her than national security and welfare of those Hindus and other religious minorities who have been subjected to a life of hell in the Islamic nations of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

It is important to note that this bill will provide a dignified life to those persecuted minorities from the three nations who have been staying in Bharat as refugees and making ends meet by doing odd jobs. As Home Minister Shah has time and again said, this bill is about providing citizenship to those persecuted people and giving them access to basic amenities including education, shelter and medical facilities among others. The opposition, however, has been spreading lies and fear mongering by projecting the bill as ‘some kind of assault’ on minorities in general and Muslims in particular.

The sooner the Central Government steps in and puts out the fire the better it would be for the peace and prosperity of Bharat.

Did you like this article? We’re a non-profit. Make a donation and help pay for our journalism.