E-Paper
TMC leader’s remark on including Bangladeshis in voter list sparks furore
Ratna Biswas, a local TMC leader in in North 24 Parganas reportedly made the remarks at a program organised by the party to celebrate the birthday of party MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar
A political row erupted in West Bengal following remarks by a local Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader, who assured assistance from the party to Bangladeshi nationals in getting their names included in the voters’ lists.
“Many Bangladeshi people reside here. Those who have arrived from Bangladesh, if they face any difficulty in linking while enrolling their names in the voter list (electoral roll), Zakir da (Jakir Hossain, a TMC leader in Habra) will help you. All of you please contact this office . . . we don’t want a single voter to be left out,” Ratna Biswas, TMC’s organisational district head of Barasat in North 24 Parganas, was seen purportedly saying in a video clip.
She reportedly made the remarks at a political program organised by the TMC in its party office in Habra to celebrate the birthday of TMC member of Parliament (MP) Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar on Thursday. The TMC MP was, however, not present at the function.
A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) delegation met the state’s chief electoral officer on Saturday and flagged the issue.
“The TMC knows very well that they are losing ground and that is why they are now trying to enroll Bangladeshis in the voter list. A TMC leader is clearly stating that several Bangladeshi people were residing in her area while trying to ensure that their names are enrolled in the electoral roll. She also named one Jakir who does the job very well. If voter list is erroneous, how can there be a proper vote?” Sishir Bajoria, state executive committee member of the BJP told media persons after coming out of the chief electoral officer’s office in Kolkata.
In the face of a controversy, Biswas later told the media that she was referring to those people who had migrated to India between 1951 and 1971.
“Her statements are being misrepresented. By Bangladeshi, she meant those people whose names were there in the list but were deleted. If a voter’s name was there in the list at any point of time and got deleted, we can do the link up. That’s what she meant. It was just a slip of tongue. Everyone, including ministers and MPs, make mistakes,” Hossain, who was present in the meeting, later told the media.
“There are certain rules and regulations of the Election Commission of India to enrol one’s name in the voter list. Certain forms need to be filled in and documents produced. If someone produces the document, he or she may get enrolled, or else not,” TMC leader Tapas Roy told media persons.
The controversy comes just days after the NIA carried out raids in 55 locations in 10 states, including West Bengal, and registered four cases to probe a larger nexus involved in illegal immigration. Out of the 44 persons arrested, three were from West Bengal. At least two of them were from North 24 Parganas.
The Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengal is the longest and one of the most porous international borders in any state across the country.
Out of the 4,096.7 km long Indo-Bangla border, West Bengal alone shares 2,216 km with the neighbouring country. In south Bengal, the border is more than 900 km long, out of which nearly 60% is riverine.
