Kolkata: Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari announced its implementation on Wednesday Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the state and said that illegal immigrants not covered under the Act will be arrested and handed over to the BSF for deportation. “This Act is being implemented in the state from today…the BSF will contact the BDR (Bangladesh Rifles, now known as Border Guard Bangladesh) and deport them,” the officer said after a meeting with BSF officials in Nabanna. According to a central government notification issued in September last year, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who entered India by December 31, 2024 to escape religious persecution in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan can apply for citizenship under the CAA. Members of the six communities can live in India legally even without a valid passport. The Home Ministry had issued new guidelines regarding identification and deportation of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh in May 2025. It also established two empowered committees to process applications for citizenship. The CM said, “The central government sent a notification to the state government on May 14, 2025, asking it to hand over the illegal immigrants to the BSF. The previous government opposed granting citizenship under the Act and did not even implement the order.”