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TMC accuses Matua group of giving IDs to Bangladeshis ineligible for citizenship
TMC leader Gopal Seth said he wrote to the Union home ministry about identity cards and religion certificates being issued to Bangladeshi immigrants ineligible for Indian citizenship
West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union minister Shantanu Thakur-led All India Matua Mahasangha of issuing identity cards and religion certificates in exchange for money to Bangladeshi immigrants ineligible for Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
TMC leader Gopal Seth, who heads the Bongaon municipality in North 24 Parganas district, on Wednesday said he wrote to the Union home ministry about Thakur allegedly holding camps and selling Bangladeshis, who entered India in recent years, ID cards and certificates. “But I got no reply,” said Seth. He added he will file a petition in the Calcutta high court.
The Matuas, who mostly trace their roots to what is now Bangladesh, are part of the Dalit Namasudra community concentrated in the north and south Bengal districts bordering Bangladesh. They were seen as key beneficiaries of CAA, which was passed to fast-track the citizenship process for non-Muslims who entered India from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh before December 31, 2014.
TMC chief Mamata Banerjee opposed the law, calling it unconstitutional as it linked citizenship to faith in a secular country. The Matua support is believed to have helped the BJP win Lok Sabha and assembly seats in 2019 and 2021. Matuas, who come under the Scheduled Caste category, influence election results in around 74 of 294 assembly seats.
Seth levelled the allegation against the backdrop of the expected Special Intensive Revision of the electoral roll in West Bengal on the lines of a similar and controversial exercise in poll-bound Bihar that sparked concerns about disenfranchisement.
Biswajit Das, the TMC assembly member from Bongaon, alleged the Mahasangha’s camps were being held to provide citizenship to Bangladeshis who entered India after 2015. “Bangladeshis who entered India in recent years are being given certificates saying they are Hindus,” Das said.
Thakur’s brother, Subrata Thakur, the BJP assembly member from North 24 Parganas district’s Gaighata and an office bearer of the Mahasangha, has been distributing ID cards from separate locations. He has accused his brother of politicising the temple at the Mahasangha headquarters at Thakurnagar by setting up a camp on its premises.
The state BJP leadership has distanced itself from the tussle, calling it a “family matter.”
Shantanu Thakur, who dismissed the allegation on July 24 and accused Subrata Thakur of attempting to join TMC, could not be contacted for comments.
Sukhendranath Gayen, the Mahasangha general secretary, denied the allegation as absolutely baseless. “No money is being taken from anyone. These are merely membership cards of the Mahasangha,” Gayen said.
Bikash Ghosh, the BJP’s Bongaon chief, claimed that the Mahasangha is not issuing the documents arbitrarily and giving them only to people they know. “TMC is raising baseless allegations to hide the corruption of its leaders,” Ghosh said.
