State-sponsored campaign against citizenship law, NRC barred in West Bengal

In an apparent jolt to the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal, the Calcutta High Court today suspended of all state-sponsored media campaigns against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

A division bench of the court, in an interim direction, asked the state government to suspend all such advertisements till it gives a final order on the issue. The next hearing in the case is slated for January 9, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

The Calcutta HC direction by a division bench of Chief Justice TBN Radhakrishnan and Justice Radhakrishnan came on six pleas were filed against state government advertisements which allegedly claimed that CAA and NRC will not be implemented in the state, the correspondent said.

Mamata Banerjee has been highly critical of the amended Citizenship Act passed by parliament and proposed countrywide NRC and undertook street marches vowing not to allow their implementation in the state.

The CAA, which critics say is anti-Muslim, seeks to give citizenship to “persecuted” non-Muslim refugees from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who have taken shelter in India till 2014.

The bench has been hearing petitions on issues like state's campaign against the CAA in various forms of media, “breakdown” of law and order situation and damage to railway property.

West Bengal Advocate General Kishore Dutta submitted before the court that law and order situation in the state is under control and suspension of internet services has been revoked.

The bench also asked the railways to give a detailed report on what action it has taken to prevent loss of public property and the monetary amount of damage caused during the violent protests against CAA/NRC.