Kolkata, Feb 3 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said she is counting on the young generation to lead the movement against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The Trinamool Congress students' wing has been demonstrating against then new citizenship law at Rani Rashmoni Avenue in the heart of the city.

Banerjee visited the venue in the evening and expressed solidarity with the students.

"I am proud that I entered politics through student activism. I want a new generation of leaders... It is the young generation which will lead the protest against CAA and NRC. The youth will fight and save the country from those forces that are dividing the country. I have full faith in all of you," she said.

Members of the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) were seen with posters and placards against the contentious legislation at the protest site.

"The NRC, CAA... are not just discriminatory against Muslims but also against the poor, the working-class and the students. Why do we have to prove our citizenship after so many years of Independence?

"We want jobs for youths and food for the poor. The Centre should be bothered about these issues rather than keeping themselves busy deciding who is an Indian and who is not," a senior TMCP leader said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)