{Breaking} Lok Sabha Elections in West Bengal could be under Shadow, as Central Government notifies implementation of CAA

Should Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal be held without weeding out the entries pertaining to the foreign nationals, in due process of law, under the Citizens Amendment Act and the statutory rules?

Notification of CAA Implementation

Now that the implementation of the CAA (Citizens Amendment Act) and the statutory rules framed thereunder has been notified—won’t the current Electoral Rolls in West Bengal and some parts of the North East be rendered questionable?

Questionable Electoral Rolls

If a large number of foreign nationals 🇧🇩 have been erroneously regarded and recorded as Indian 🇮🇳 citizens and included in the electoral rolls, isn’t it the duty of the Election Commission of India to weed out these illegal entries?

The Role of the Election Commission

If this weeding out has to be carried out by some other statutory authorities, shouldn’t the ECI wait before rushing into conduct Lok Sabha elections West Bengal?

A Precedent for Postponement

Heavens are not going to fall, if the elections to the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies of West Bengal are held after this purification process—as distinct from deportation and internment—is over? This was a routine matter in case of Punjab in days of terrorism in the 1980s and early 1990s, where Lok Sabha elections in Punjab were delinked from the rest of the country, of course, on law and order grounds.

If the State Government Doesn’t Cooperate?

If the State Government in West Bengal, or indeed in any other state, does not cooperate or categorically refuses to facilitate the statutory process under the CAA, could this not constitute a suitable case for invoking Article 356 of the Constitution of India to impose President’s Rule?

A Call for Bold Decisions

Expect bold and courageous decisions both by the Central Government and the Election Commission of India.