The Calcutta High Court has ordered the West Bengal government to remove all advertisements criticizing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) from the public domain till the court decides on all the petitions.
The next hearing in this matter is on January 9.
A division bench of Chief Justice TBN Radhakrishnan passed the order after several petitions were filed against the Bengal government for airing such ads featuring the chief minister.
Earlier last week, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar had also asked the Mamata government to withdraw advertisements against NRC and CAA in the state.
Dhankar, in a press conference, had said, “I’m sure the Chief Minister will at least withdraw advertisements, which state that the Citizenship Act would not be implemented in the state. These acts are unconstitutional and amount to criminal use of public funds.”
According to reports, the government had given advertisements to news channels wherein Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee herself was seen saying that the people of Bengal should not worry as the state will not implement NRC and Citizenship Amendment Act.
“How can an elected head of the state use the public funds and advertise that there will be no NRC and CAA. Public money cannot be used to lead an agitation against the law which has been passed by the Parliament,” said Dhankar.
The West Bengal CM has been strongly opposing the CAA and NRC and accused the BJP of instigating violence against the minorities.