Will enforce CAA 2014 cut-off for citizenship, says Tripura CM

AGARTALA: Tripura chief minister Manik Saha announced Monday that his govt will strictly implement Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019, adhering to the cut-off date of Dec 31, 2014, for granting Indian citizenship to immigrants.His comments sharpened a growing rift with BJP's coalition partner Tipra Motha which has demanded recognition of all migrants entering after the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war as illegal - echoing the Indira-Mujib Accord. The party has set up district-level committees to flag suspected immigrants who are using forged papers.Tipra Motha chief Pradyot Kishore Debbarman has also pushed for a full revision of electoral rolls to identify undocumented immigrants.

Election Commission has invited the party for a meeting on Wednesday.Saha drew a clear line: "Only those who fled religious persecution in Afghanistan, Pakistan or Bangladesh and entered India by Dec 31, 2014, are eligible for citizenship under CAA. Anyone arriving after this date will be treated as an illegal migrant."To curb infiltration, the state has formed an STF and directed district magistrates and police to ramp up surveillance.

Saha said cooperation with border forces has sharply reduced illegal entries in recent months.Tripura is developing a separate system to manage those identified as illegal immigrants. It remains unclear whether detention centres - used in Assam - will be part of that framework.The immigration debate has intensified recently following West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's accusation that BJP-led state govts are deporting Bengali migrant workers by labelling them Bangladeshi. PM Narendra Modi hit back at Trinamool Congress at a rally in Bengal's Durgapur, accusing the party of encouraging infiltration.