"Shocking" TMC MP Saket Gokhale On 'RSS Issuing Eligibility Certificates For CAA Application'

Following the government authorising the local priests and Pujaris to issue eligibility certificates under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), there are now reports regarding the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its associated organisations organising camps and issuing certificates to determine if someone is Hindu.

Reacting to the development, Trinamool Congress MP and spokesperson Saket Gokhale today called it “very shocking and concerning.” In his post on X (formerly Twitter), the TMC leader said that there have been new sneaky revelations almost every day since the CAA rules were notified and the Act was implemented. Earlier the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government stated that a certificate from a local priest or Pujari can be used as proof of religion and now the RSS and Sangh Parivar decide if someone is Hindu or eligible to be a citizen of India, Saket Gokhale writes.

There were reports by The Hindu that for the past week, the RSS-affiliated groups in Rajasthan have organised camps and issued eligibility certificates to members of the Hindu community hailing from Pakistan. Expressing his concern over the authority of RSS issuing such certificates, Saket Gokhale asked on what grounds has the RSS become an “authority” to decide whether someone is a Hindu or whether someone is “eligible” to be a citizen of India.

Targeting the Prime Minister Modi and his government, the TMC leader wrote, “Don”t be surprised if the Modi Govt suddenly decides to make RSS the sole authority for giving eligibility certificates to people.”

Noting the religious body becoming an authority to issue certificates, the TMC leader further suspected that the new trend “clearly shows” that the RSS will slowly become the “authorized organization” to decide whether someone is a Hindu or “eligible to be an Indian Citizen, adding that It doesn”t matter whether you”re a Hindu.

The TMC MP then wrote, “This is DANGEROUS considering the “chronology” declared by Amit Shah in 2019 where he said that CAA will be followed by an NRC,”

The authorisation of local priests and and the certificate distribution of non-government bodies for the CAA procedures have increased the concerns regarding the CAA implementations and its outcome. The hint made by Home Minister Amit Shah on National Register Of Citizenship (NRC) fuels the worry further.