West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday said that hearings of applications for citizenship under the CAA will soon be over, and so far the state has issued certificates to 23,000 people out of 2.30 lakh applicants.
On the law-and-order front, Adhikari on Monday announced that a provision of a new legislation would come into force from Monday and warned that those damaging government property would not be spared.
Addressing a press conference at the state secretariat ‘Nabanna’, Adhikari said the hearings related to citizenship under the CAA would be completed expeditiously, and certificates would be issued soon. “We will complete the hearings quickly and issue certificates to Hindu refugees who came from Bangladesh because of religious persecution,” the chief minister said.
“From today, a part of the anti-goonda law has come into effect in West Bengal. The legislation, popularly referred to as the anti-goonda bill, was brought with the stated objective of curbing anti-social activities and strengthening preventive action by the police and administration. The CM was apparently referring to the West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Bill, 2026, which was passed by the assembly in July.
“The Government of India has entrusted this responsibility to me,” the CM said. No one will be spared if government property is damaged,” he said.
The chief minister’s remarks on public property came against the backdrop of earlier incidents of violence and damage to government assets during protests against the CAA in parts of Murshidabad and other areas of the state.
