No data on Citizenship Act beneficiary, says Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal

Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal said to a gathering of Bharatiya Janata Party youth wing members that no one has any data about how many persons would be benefitted from the Citizenship Amendment Act in the state, reported The Telegraph

Referring to the number of CAA beneficiaries, Sonowal said, “To tell you the truth, no one has the data.” He said this at a youth parliament organised by the BJP’s youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) in Guwahati.

Bharatiya Janata Party leaders were asked by the participants about different figures they gave on the number of Citizenship Act beneficiaries.

One of the youths asked state BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Dass why he and Sonowal said the number of beneficiaries was negligible while cabinet minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said the number would be between 3.5 lakh to five lakh. Another youth asked Sonowal about the real figure.

Ranjeet said as per his knowledge, Assam CM had never said that “negligible or a few” persons will come to Assam.

“He (Sonowal) never said negligible or a few people would apply. As far as I know, Sarma also never said that three to five lakh people would come. He said there was a scope for three to five lakh people to apply. I say till the 42 lakh members of the BJP in Assam identify themselves as Assamese or Indians, no foreigner will be able to come to Assam,” he said as reported by The Telegraph

Ranjeet stated that those opposed to the BJP had been spreading information that Sonowal and Sarma talked about coming of new people to the state because of the CAA.

Leaders of BJP have been stating that no new person would enter Assam because of Citizenship Act. According to them, those who have already been in the state before 2015 will get citizenship. At various meetings, Sarma has been claiming that the figure will not be more than five lakh.

In the Assembly Sarma had said the government would be responsible and he would quit politics if more than five lakh people apply for citizenship under the CAA.