Union textiles minister Giriraj Singh on Saturday urged Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to support the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) if she was genuinely against the infiltration of Bangladeshis into India.

The BJP MP of Begusarai in Bihar claimed Mamata’s act of “facilitating” the infiltration of Bangladeshis was no less than “treason”.

“It was she (Mamata) who once said that no one could evict Bangladeshis from Bengal. Why is she doing this? Many Bangladeshis arrested in India were found settled in Bengal, and her people have issued Aadhaar cards to them. This is treason,” Singh said.

He was speaking during the inauguration of the independent campus of the Indian Institute of Handloom Technology (IIHT) at Phulia in Nadia.

“If you are truly against infiltration, you must support the NRC and implement the CAA,” Singh said.

The Union minister called on citizens to demand the implementation of the CAA to protect their culture and identity. Singh warned that unchecked infiltration could lead to drastic demographic changes.

Although Singh attacked Mamata over the CAA and the NRC, the BJP had diluted its aggression on the citizenship matrix in the run-up to the last Lok Sabha polls. In the 2019 election manifesto of the BJP, NRC was one of the prominent promises. However, the manifesto released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls did not include the NRC. But it did mention the “implementation of the CAA”, which was also delayed because framing rules for the same took too long.

“The NRC experience in Assam was not good for the party as several Hindus were left out of the citizenship register. This had prompted Union home minister Amit Shah to publicly allay fears and convince people that the CAA had nothing to do with the NRC,” a senior BJP leader of Bengal said.

Local BJP MP Jagannath Sarkar echoed Singh’s sentiments and urged the central government to simplify the CAA’s provisions.

According to Sarkar, that would streamline the process of granting citizenship to persecuted minorities from neighbouring countries and protect Indian interests.

Responding to Mamata’s recent criticism of the Border Security Force (BSF), Singh said the allegations were baseless and intended to cover up intelligence failures of the Bengal government.

The chief minister had last week accused the BSF of facilitating cross-border infiltration and threatened protests if such activities continued.

Singh dismissed these claims. “It is shameful to accuse a force that stands as a wall to protect us. These accusations are only meant to hide your failures,” the Union minister said.

Ranaghat MP Jagannath Sarkar further alleged that many Bangladeshi nationals had obtained Indian citizenship with the support of the state administration. “They are enjoying dual citizenship and availing benefits from government welfare programmes. They cast their votes here and in Bangladesh too. The CAA can help identify such individuals while also protecting local weavers, as many infiltrators are engaged in the same trade,” Sarkar later told The Telegraph.

The Trinamool Congress has questioned Singh for giving a political speech at a government event. Trinamul MLA Mukutmani Adhikari, a Matua leader who unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha election from Ranaghat, termed Singh’s comment “irresponsible”.

Adhikari also slammed Singh for spoiling the sanctity of a government-sponsored programme and using its platform to make political attacks on a chief minister.

“Mamata Banerjee has raised questions about how the BSF being a central agency failed to curb infiltration. Singh should ask BSF authorities before holding Mamata Banerjee responsible for infiltration. On the other hand, the BJP’s claim of ensuring citizenship through the CAA is a total lie, rather the provisions are traps to rob people of citizenship. The act seeks proof of religious persecution, which is an absurd proposition and made to harass people. Unfortunately, Singh has been advocating it,” Adhikari told The Telegraph.

The CAA seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslim refugees fleeing religious persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. While the BJP has championed the act as a humanitarian measure, Opposition parties, including Trinamool, called it discriminatory and divisive. The Act, coupled with the NRC, sparked nationwide protests and debates over its implications for India’s secular fabric and demographic stability.

The Phulia campus of the Indian Institute of Handloom Technology constructed at a cost of ₹75 crore is the sixth such institution established by the central government. The new campus’s seat capacity increased from 33 to 60. Students from all six units were invited to Phulia to receive their awards and degrees for academic excellence.