Suvendu Adhikari Says CAA Hearings Will End Soon, 23,000 Refugees Get Citizenship Certificates

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday said that hearings on citizenship applications under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) will be completed soon. He said 23,000 people have already received citizenship certificates out of around 2.30 lakh applicants.

Speaking at a press conference at the state secretariat Nabanna, Adhikari said the remaining applications would be processed quickly through district magistrates.
“We will complete the hearings quickly and issue certificates to Hindu refugees who came from Bangladesh because of religious persecution,” he said.

The CAA provides a path to Indian citizenship for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who came to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan due to religious persecution before December 31, 2014.

Adhikari also said people who have not yet applied under the CAA can still apply. He assured the Matua community and other Hindu refugees waiting for citizenship certificates that their applications would be processed.

On August 1, Adhikari had said that all pending CAA applications in West Bengal would be cleared within six months.