BJP govt in Bengal will speed up CAA implementation, infiltrators must leave: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday sharpened the BJP's pitch on infiltration and welfare in poll-bound West Bengal and promised that the process of granting citizenship to Matua and Namasudra refugee families will speed up once the party comes to power.

Addressing a rally at Katwa in Purba Bardhaman district, Modi said the BJP had brought in the Citizenship (Amendment) Act to grant citizenship to refugees and accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of trying to spread fear among them.

"I want to tell the Matua and Namasudra refugee families that they are under the protection of the country's Constitution. Modi enacted the CAA law so that Matua, Namasudra, and all refugees get citizenship," he said.

The PM also said, "After the BJP government is formed, the process of granting citizenship under CAA will be accelerated for all eligible applicants."

The remarks are significant in a state where the Matua community, spread across several districts of south Bengal, is seen as an influential electoral bloc and where the issue of citizenship has remained politically charged.

Stepping up his attack on alleged illegal immigration, Modi said "infiltrators" would have to leave Bengal once the BJP forms the government.

"The infiltrators should start packing their bags; it is time to leave. Those who have helped the infiltrators will not be spared," Modi added, in an apparent attack on the TMC.

The Prime Minister alleged that the 15-year rule of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had created an atmosphere of fear in Bengal.

"The 15-year rule of the TMC has given nothing but fear to every citizen, every family of Bengal. This election is to eradicate the TMC's fear," he said.

He called for a "Bengal free of TMC's fear and filled with BJP's trust". Modi said, "Such a change would be the first step towards building a developed Bengal."

Elections to the 294-member West Bengal assembly will be held in two phases - on April 23 and April 29. Votes will be counted on May 4.