CAA grants citizenship, not removes it: Bengal CM Adhikari
Synopsis
West Bengal's new BJP Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari used a mass certificate-distribution event for 300 Matua community members to reframe the CAA narrative — calling it a citizenship-granting law, not a citizenship-stripping one, and directly attacking the previous TMC government for spreading what he called deliberate misinformation. With over 2.3 lakh applications pending and a six-month disposal deadline now on record, this is as much a governance signal as a political one.
Key Takeaways
West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari distributed CAA citizenship certificates to 300 Matua community members from North 24 Parganas at New Town, Kolkata on 1 August .
A total of 23,956 certificates have been issued statewide; 5,966 of these in the 11 weeks since the BJP government took office.
West Bengal has received 2,30,605 CAA applications ; all pending cases to be cleared within six months , Adhikari announced.
Nadia district leads with 10,191 certificates , followed by North 24 Parganas with 8,930 .
Powers are to be delegated to district magistrates within one month for faster application disposal, following talks with the Union Home Secretary .
Adhikari accused the previous TMC government of conflating the CAA with the NRC to mislead voters, particularly the Muslim community.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday, 1 August declared that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019 is a law designed to grant citizenship — not to strip it — as he distributed Indian citizenship certificates to 300 members of the Matua community from North 24 Parganas district at an event in New Town, Kolkata. The Chief Minister also announced that all pending CAA applications in West Bengal would be cleared within the next six months.
Key Developments at the Kolkata Ceremony
Addressing the gathering, Adhikari said, 'The CAA is meant to grant citizenship, not to take away anyone's citizenship. Eligible people must come forward and apply under the Act. More certificates will be issued in the coming months.'
He revealed that 23,956 citizenship certificates have been issued across the state to date, of which 5,966 were granted in the 11 weeks since the new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government assumed office in the state. A total of 2,30,605 applications have been received statewide.
District-Wise Progress
Nadia district leads with the highest number of beneficiaries at 10,191 certificates, followed by North 24 Parganas with 8,930. The distribution underscores that the Matua community — a large Hindu refugee population concentrated in these districts — remains among the most prominent beneficiaries of the CAA.
Administrative Push for Faster Disposal
Adhikari disclosed that following discussions with the Union Home Secretary, the process of delegating legal and administrative powers to district magistrates for the speedy disposal of CAA applications is expected to begin within one month. This decentralisation is intended to unclog a pipeline of over two lakh pending applications.
Attack on Previous TMC Government
The Chief Minister launched a sharp attack on the previous Trinamool Congress (TMC) government, accusing it of deliberately conflating the CAA with the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to mislead voters, particularly the Muslim community.
'The previous government projected the CAA as the NRC and misled the people, particularly the Muslim community. False propaganda was spread claiming that applying under the CAA would result in loss of jobs, ration benefits or the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme. Today, the truth has come out, and even opposition MLAs have attended this programme voluntarily,' Adhikari said.
The CAA provides Indian citizenship to refugees from six religious communities — Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians — who fled religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan and entered India before 31 December 2014. The law has been a flashpoint in West Bengal's politics, where the Matua community constitutes a significant vote bloc across multiple Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies.
With the BJP now in power in the state, the pace of CAA implementation is set to accelerate — and Saturday's event signals that the new government intends to convert administrative delivery into political capital ahead of future electoral cycles.
Point of View
Which proved decisive in multiple constituencies. But the real test is not the ceremony; it is whether the six-month disposal promise holds against a backlog of over two lakh applications. The delegation of powers to district magistrates is the right structural move, but it also shifts accountability downward — and district-level capacity in Bengal has historically been uneven. Mainstream coverage has focused on the political optics; the implementation machinery deserves equal scrutiny.
NationPress
1 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari say about the CAA?
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 is designed to grant Indian citizenship — not to take it away from anyone. He made the remarks while distributing certificates to 300 Matua community members in New Town, Kolkata on 1 August.
How many CAA citizenship certificates have been issued in West Bengal?
A total of 23,956 citizenship certificates have been issued across West Bengal so far, including 5,966 in the 11 weeks since the new BJP government was formed. The state has received 2,30,605 applications in total.
Which districts have the most CAA beneficiaries in West Bengal?
Nadia district leads with 10,191 certificates issued, followed by North 24 Parganas with 8,930. Both districts have large concentrations of the Matua community, the primary beneficiaries of the CAA in the state.
What is the CAA and who does it benefit?
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 grants Indian citizenship to refugees from six religious communities — Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians — who fled religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh, or Afghanistan and entered India before 31 December 2014. It does not affect the citizenship of any existing Indian citizen.
What did Adhikari say about the previous TMC government and the CAA?
Adhikari accused the previous Trinamool Congress government of deliberately projecting the CAA as the NRC to mislead people, particularly the Muslim community. He said false propaganda claimed that CAA applicants would lose jobs, ration benefits, or access to the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme.
