West Bengal's Chief Minister described the current situation as ‘serious’ in a series of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed NRC. On 23rd December Monday, Mamata Banerjee urged all the non-BJP and opposition parties to come together and rise against the “draconian regime” of the Centre.
Stating that democracy in India is under threat from the BJP-led government at the Centre, Banerjee wrote to chief ministers and senior leaders belonging to opposition parties urging them to unite and chalk out a plan to “save the country”.
Reports suggest that the letter was sent to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah among others. Her letter noted,
“Today, I write this letter to you with grave worries in my mind. The citizens of this country irrespective of caste and creed, particularly the women and children, farmers, workers and members of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, OBCs and minorities are in the grip of fear and panic for the Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed nationwide NRC. The situation is very serious.”
In the meantime, the Calcutta High Court ordered Banerjee's government to “take off” or remove all ads that said West Bengal will not implement the amended citizenship law and the citizens' list. The order by a division bench of Chief Justice TBN Radhakrishnan and Justice Radhakrishnan came after several petitions were filed against the Bengal government for airing the ads against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the NRC amid protests.
The court order came even as the BJP held a massive rally in support of the amended citizenship law in Kolkata attended by BJP MP JP Nadda. In the meantime, Prime Minister Narendra Modi while launching the BJP's Delhi election campaign sought to assure people that there are no talks of taking the NRC across the length and breadth of the country.
