23,000 citizenship certificates issued under CAA in WB: CM Adhikari

The Central Government has empowered the West Bengal government to conduct hearings under the Citizenship Amendment Act, or CAA, and issue citizenship certificates to eligible applicants. Showing a Gazette notification issued by the Union Home Ministry, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari told reporters at the state headquarters in Kolkata that 23,000 people have so far been recognised as eligible and issued citizenship certificates out of around two lakh 30 thousand applicants. He said the remaining applications would be processed quickly and certificates would be handed over through the respective district magistrates. The Chief Minister urged people who had fled from Bangladesh due to religious persecution to apply for citizenship under the CAA.

#WATCH | Howrah: On Union Home Ministry empowering District Collectors in specific states to directly process applications and grant CAA citizenship certificates, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said, "This is very good news for us. The Central Govt has allocated the… pic.twitter.com/QXs3Per9VL

— ANI (@ANI) August 24, 2026

The CAA or the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, seeks to grant Indian citizenship to refugees belonging to six communities, who had sought shelter in India before December 31, 2014, due to religious persecution in three neighbouring countries — Pakistan, Bangladesh and Bangladesh. The six communities are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians.
West Bengal minister Dilip Ghosh says, "The way infiltration has taken place in Bengal and the rights of common people were being taken away, the law and order situation was also deteriorating. It is difficult to control such a large situation from Delhi. Now the state government has been given an opportunity and the powers to address citizenship-related matters and other issues. If these powers are used, the infiltration problem will be resolved."