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Ruled Bangladeshi by Calcutta HC, TMC's Alo Rani Sarkar says ‘I was born in…’
The court ruled that as soon as the petitioner's name was recorded in the electoral roll of Bangladesh and she was enrolled as a citizen of that country, her citizenship of India automatically ceased to exist.
Trinamool Congress’s losing candidate from West Bengal’s Bongaon Dakshin constituency Alo Rani Sarkar, who has been ruled as a Bangladeshi citizen by Calcutta high court, claimed on Saturday that she was born in India in 1969 and has ancestral property in Bangladesh. Sarkar expressed dissatisfaction with the high court ruling and said that she will approach the division bench to challenge the decision, reported news agency ANI.
“I'm not satisfied with the decision of the single bench. I will approach the division bench of the court. I was born in 1969 in this country. Our family moved to Baidyabati in the Hooghly district in 1971. We have ancestral property in Bangladesh,” ANI quoted the TMC leader as saying.
The court ruled her Bangladeshi while dismissing her election petition challenging BJP candidate Swapan Majumdar's victory. Justice Bibek Chaudhuri said in his May 20 order that Sarkar had claimed to be an Indian citizen on the strength of a passport, voter ID, PAN card and Aadhar card, noting that these are not documents of citizenship of India and she had never acquired it in accordance with the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Making strong observations, the judge noted in the order that it is "needless to say that the petitioner has claimed to be the citizen of this country by birth. But from the inquiry report which she relies in her written objection against the application under Order VII Rule 11(d) of the CPC it is ascertained that her parents used to live in Bangladesh and she came to India with her uncle in her childhood, meaning thereby that the petitioner was born in Bangladesh.”
"In view of the peculiar facts and circumstances of this case, a copy of this order be sent to the Election Commission of India for information and for taking necessary action in respect of the petitioner's status in this country as on this date," Justice Chaudhuri directed.
In June 2021, Sarkar filed a petition challenging BJP's Swapan Majumdar's win from Bongaon Dakshin in the assembly elections. Majumdar then filed an application stating that as the petitioner is a foreign national and not a citizen of India, the appeal filed by her is barred by law.
Sarkar, who contested on TMC’s ticket, was earlier in BJP, but the saffron party said that they didn’t have the information about her citizenship at that time.
“We didn't have any information about this while she (TMC's Alo Rani Sarkar) was in BJP; she couldn't stand with BJP for much time & joined TMC... this issue has suddenly come forth now that she's in TMC, so it's their (TMC's) responsibility,” ANI quoted BJP leader Samik Bhattacharya as saying.
(With inputs from agencies)
