KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday came out in support of Assamese singer-composer Bhupen Hazarika’s son on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and said the Narendra Modi government should “understand and respect” the sentiments of the people of the North East.
Her comments came in the backdrop of Hazarika’s son Tez saying his father’s name and words were being invoked and celebrated publicly (by the Centre) even as plans were afoot to pass the “painfully unpopular” Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.
In a Facebook post on Monday, Tez had described the proposed legislation as “undermining” the “documented position” of Hazarika, who was awarded the Bharat Ratna — the country’s highest civilian award — posthumously by the Modi government last month.
“We (Trinamool Congress) have opposed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and demanded that it should be withdrawn. “Why do citizens of this country need to prove their citizenship again? Those who have come to this country after partition from Pakistan and Bangladesh are very much citizens of this country. They want to insult the people of this country in the name of citizenship,” Banerjee told reporters here. (PTI)
