News Analysis India

Tag: Citizenship act

  • Matuas to stop trusting BJP if Citizenship Amendment Act not implemented: Community leaders

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Days after the Centre decided to grant citizenship to a section of people who came from a neighbouring country and settled in Gujarat, Matua community members in Bengal said they would ‘stop trusting the BJP’ if similar benefit was not provided to them.

    Leaders of the community said they will hit the streets if their demand for citizenship was not met with.

    “We are hopeful that citizenship will also be granted to us soon, but if that doesn’t happen, Matuas will be hitting the streets in protest,” said Mukut Moni Adhikari, a senior leader of All India Matua Mahasangha.

    Matuas, who make up for a large chunk of the state’s Scheduled Caste population, had been migrating to West Bengal from Bangladesh since the 1950s, ostensibly due to religious persecution.

    All those who migrated till March 1971 are legal citizens of India, according to the 1955 citizenship act.

    The ones who came after 1971 have to apply for naturalization after a stay of seven years, according to the provisions of the act.

    The Centre recently decided to grant Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who left Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan and settled in two districts of Gujarat, under the Citizenship Act, 1955.

    The Matuas, however, have been promised citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019.

    “We are aware that citizenship is being granted in Gujarat under 1955 Act. We want CAA 2019 to be implemented too as early as possible,” Adhikari told PTI.

    The controversial CAA, which can grant citizenship to all Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Christians who fled religious persecution from neighbouring SAARC countries, is, however, yet to be implemented in the wake of the wide-spread protests against it, especially in the northeast.

    According to the Matua leaders, community members are apprehensive about the future of the law, which is pending implementation for nearly three years.

    Adhikari, who is also a BJP MLA from the Matua-dominated Ranaghat Dakshin constituency, said he is confident that the BJP government at the Centre would keep its promise.

    “Matuas want citizenship to be given under CAA 2019, which has religious persecution as a clause. The CAA 2019, once implemented, will give Matua community its due recognition,” Adhikari said.

    However, another senior leader of Matua Mahasangha, Asim Sarkar, said the community members will no longer have faith in the BJP, as they did during 2019 Lok Sabha elections, if CAA is not implemented before 2024.

    “We think the BJP leadership will keep its poll promise of 2019. But if it is not implemented before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Matuas will stop trusting the BJP,” Sarkar, also a BJP MLA from Haringhata assembly seat, told PTI.

    “What was the need to pass a new law in 2019 if you are granting citizenship under the 1955 Act? I think there should be a clarification,” Sarkar said.

    Around 30 lakh Matuas reside in West Bengal, with the community holding sway in at least five Lok Sabha seats and nearly 40 assembly constituencies in Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas districts.

    The promise of implementing CAA was a major poll plank for the BJP in the last Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, which helped the party bag all five Matua-dominated Lok Sabha seats in 2019 and at least 29 assembly seats in 2021.

    Speaking on the issue, Union minister of state for shipping Santanu Thakur said that CAA implementation has been put on hold as several cases are pending against it.

    “There are several cases that were filed by forces who didn’t want CAA 2019 to be implemented. Once these are cleared, it is likely to get implemented,” Thakur, also a Matua leader, told PTI.

    “The 1955 act is applicable till the new act of 2019 gets implemented. Matuas won’t be deprived of citizenship,” he added.

    BJP national vice president Dilip Ghosh pointed out that the BJP kept its promise “when it came to the Ram Mandir issue and Article 370” and that CAA will not be an exception.

    The ruling TMC in Bengal, however, claimed that the BJP was trying to fool Matuas with the “CAA hoax”.

    “They are trying to rake up the issue again ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls,” Mamatabala Thakur, a former TMC MP and the daughter-in-law of the community’s late matriarch Binapani Devi, told PTI.

    Political observers feel that implementation of CAA is unlikely in the near future as it has implications on domestic politics and also diplomatic ties.

    “The issue of CAA will be used by both the BJP and the TMC before next Lok Sabha polls as it will help them polarize voters on communal lines,” political scientist Biswanath Chakraborty added.

    KOLKATA: Days after the Centre decided to grant citizenship to a section of people who came from a neighbouring country and settled in Gujarat, Matua community members in Bengal said they would ‘stop trusting the BJP’ if similar benefit was not provided to them.

    Leaders of the community said they will hit the streets if their demand for citizenship was not met with.

    “We are hopeful that citizenship will also be granted to us soon, but if that doesn’t happen, Matuas will be hitting the streets in protest,” said Mukut Moni Adhikari, a senior leader of All India Matua Mahasangha.

    Matuas, who make up for a large chunk of the state’s Scheduled Caste population, had been migrating to West Bengal from Bangladesh since the 1950s, ostensibly due to religious persecution.

    All those who migrated till March 1971 are legal citizens of India, according to the 1955 citizenship act.

    The ones who came after 1971 have to apply for naturalization after a stay of seven years, according to the provisions of the act.

    The Centre recently decided to grant Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who left Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan and settled in two districts of Gujarat, under the Citizenship Act, 1955.

    The Matuas, however, have been promised citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019.

    “We are aware that citizenship is being granted in Gujarat under 1955 Act. We want CAA 2019 to be implemented too as early as possible,” Adhikari told PTI.

    The controversial CAA, which can grant citizenship to all Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Christians who fled religious persecution from neighbouring SAARC countries, is, however, yet to be implemented in the wake of the wide-spread protests against it, especially in the northeast.

    According to the Matua leaders, community members are apprehensive about the future of the law, which is pending implementation for nearly three years.

    Adhikari, who is also a BJP MLA from the Matua-dominated Ranaghat Dakshin constituency, said he is confident that the BJP government at the Centre would keep its promise.

    “Matuas want citizenship to be given under CAA 2019, which has religious persecution as a clause. The CAA 2019, once implemented, will give Matua community its due recognition,” Adhikari said.

    However, another senior leader of Matua Mahasangha, Asim Sarkar, said the community members will no longer have faith in the BJP, as they did during 2019 Lok Sabha elections, if CAA is not implemented before 2024.

    “We think the BJP leadership will keep its poll promise of 2019. But if it is not implemented before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Matuas will stop trusting the BJP,” Sarkar, also a BJP MLA from Haringhata assembly seat, told PTI.

    “What was the need to pass a new law in 2019 if you are granting citizenship under the 1955 Act? I think there should be a clarification,” Sarkar said.

    Around 30 lakh Matuas reside in West Bengal, with the community holding sway in at least five Lok Sabha seats and nearly 40 assembly constituencies in Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas districts.

    The promise of implementing CAA was a major poll plank for the BJP in the last Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, which helped the party bag all five Matua-dominated Lok Sabha seats in 2019 and at least 29 assembly seats in 2021.

    Speaking on the issue, Union minister of state for shipping Santanu Thakur said that CAA implementation has been put on hold as several cases are pending against it.

    “There are several cases that were filed by forces who didn’t want CAA 2019 to be implemented. Once these are cleared, it is likely to get implemented,” Thakur, also a Matua leader, told PTI.

    “The 1955 act is applicable till the new act of 2019 gets implemented. Matuas won’t be deprived of citizenship,” he added.

    BJP national vice president Dilip Ghosh pointed out that the BJP kept its promise “when it came to the Ram Mandir issue and Article 370” and that CAA will not be an exception.

    The ruling TMC in Bengal, however, claimed that the BJP was trying to fool Matuas with the “CAA hoax”.

    “They are trying to rake up the issue again ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls,” Mamatabala Thakur, a former TMC MP and the daughter-in-law of the community’s late matriarch Binapani Devi, told PTI.

    Political observers feel that implementation of CAA is unlikely in the near future as it has implications on domestic politics and also diplomatic ties.

    “The issue of CAA will be used by both the BJP and the TMC before next Lok Sabha polls as it will help them polarize voters on communal lines,” political scientist Biswanath Chakraborty added.

  • ‘Further delay in CAA implementation to hurt BJP’s support base in Bengal’: Party MLA

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Exuding confidence that Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) would be implemented before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, BJP MLA Asim Sarkar on Friday said that any further delay in implementing the law would hurt the party’s support base among refugees The ruling TMC, which has been opposed to CAA, said it would never allow the “draconian law” to come into effect in the state.

    Sarkar, a BJP legislator from Matua community-dominated Haringhata, said that a section of refugees had trusted the saffron party as it promised to implement the law, and accordingly ensured its victory in 18 Lok Sabha seats of the state in 2019.

    Matuas, who make up a large chunk of the state’s Scheduled Caste population, had been migrating to West Bengal from erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) since the 1950s, primarily due to religious persecution.

    “We are hopeful that CAA will be implemented before the next Lok Sabha polls. If it is not implemented, it will hurt the party’s support base among the refugees.”

    “If anyone is serious about the cause of the refugees, it is the BJP; other parties have opposed the CAA. I won’t be able to seek votes for the party in those areas (where refugees have settled) next time if it’s not implemented,” he told reporters.

    Sarkar also said he had written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, explaining the “consequences” if CAA, passed in December 2019, is not brought into force.

    The promise of implementing the controversial CAA had been a major poll plank of the BJP in the last Lok Sabha electionsand state polls.

    Downplaying Sarkar’s concerns, West Bengal BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said, “It was an emotional outburst. The party will speak to him.”

    The ruling TMC, however, asserted it would never allow the BJP to implement the law.

    “We don’t believe in the divisive politics of the BJP,” state parliamentary affairs minister Partha Chatterjee said.

    CAA seeks to grant Indian citizenship to persecuted minorities like Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, who had entered India on or before December 31, 2014.

    The Centre has said that citizenship to the eligible beneficiaries of CAA will be given only after rules under the legislation are notified.

    Around 30 lakh Matuas reside in West Bengal, with the community electorally influencing at least five Lok Sabha seats and nearly 50 assembly seats in Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas districts.

  • Gorkhas elated as Assam decides against their prosecution under Citizenship Act

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: The Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh (BGP), which is the national social organisation of the Gorkhas, hailed the Assam government for its decision against prosecution of any members of the Gorkha community under the Citizenship Act.

    The Himanta Biswa Sarma cabinet decided that no new cases will be registered against the Gorkha community at the Foreigners’ Tribunals (FTs). The government also decided to withdraw the cases already registered.

    Nanda Kirati Dewan, BGP national secretary, said the decisions came as a huge relief for Gorkha families, prosecuted under the citizenship law.

    “It will also remove the tag of illegal immigrants or foreigners from the members of the community, who are original inhabitants of Assam and are bonafide Indian citizens,” he said.

    Dewan alleged at least 22,000 Gorkhas have been marked as “doubtful voters or “D voters” arbitrarily in the electoral rolls since 1997 and nearly 2,500 were being heard at the various Foreigners’ Tribunals.

    “Around 500 cases were disposed off since the NRC (National Register of Citizens) process began. A few were given ex-parte decisions and declared foreigners. Some were jailed in a detention camp. With our combined efforts, most of these cases have been resolved, but some are still pending,” Dewan said.

    The Gorkha community demands the removal of the D-voter tag to mark the implementation of the cabinet decision so that these people can exercise their voting right in the upcoming by-elections.

    “The BGP pursued the matter not just legally but also before the constitutional authority. The (then) honourable Chief Justice of India Justice Ranjan Gogoi had observed that the Gorkhas are the assets of the nation. The Ministry of Home Affairs too had issued a notification about Gorkha D voters and FTs on September 24, 2018. It said the Gorkhas shouldn’t be tried at FTs,” Dewan said.

    He added the matter was continuously pursued leading to this amicable solution. 

  • Centre’s latest citizenship move back door entry of CAA, exposes Modi government’s fascist nature: Left

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Centre’s move to verify and approve citizenship applications from members of minority communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh living in five Indian states reveals the government’s “fascist character” and is a way to give a “back door entry” to the CAA-2019, the Left parties alleged Saturday.

    The Centre on Friday issued a gazette notification granting powers under existing rules to authorities in 13 districts of Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab to accept, verify and approve citizenship applications from members of minority communities hailing from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

    With the Centre yet to frame rules under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019, which was fiercely protested against by various sections, the order has been issued under the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the Citizenship Rules, 2009.

    The Friday notification lists Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians as the communities that will be allowed.

    The applications will have to be submitted online.

    “Subterfuge. Rules under CAA 2019 not framed, yet the Central govt issues gazette notification to implement it. Petitions challenging Constitutional validity of CAA continue to remain unheard. Hope SC takes this up promptly & stops back door implementation,” CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said in a Tweet.

    CPI general secretary D Raja alleged the move “completely exposes the fascist character” of the present government.

    He said there were huge protests against the CAA 2019 before the agitators relented because of the coronavirus pandemic, while some protests earlier were “ruthlessly crushed”.

    “It (the latest citizenship move) shows the insensitivity of a government if it pursues its political agenda at a time when thousands are dying every day due to a pandemic. This exposes the government as insensitive, anti-people and anti-democracy,” he said.

    Dipankar Bhattacharya, CPI-ML general secretary, questioned as to how such an order can be passed when the CAA rules are still not in place.

    “In election rallies, BJP leaders were ‘distributing’ citizenship like they deposited those Rs 15 lakh in every account. Now they are asking for applications from refugees! So if you’re an undocumented citizen, you now become a refugee! By the way, are the CAA rules in place?” he asked.

    In December 2019, the Parliament had amended the Citizenship Act to grant citizenship to illegal immigrants belonging to Hindu, Jain, Sikh, Parsi, Christian and Buddhist communities — but not Muslims — from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

    Under this law, they will be granted fast track Indian citizenship in six years.

    So far, 12 years of residence has been the standard eligibility requirement for citizenship through naturalisation.

    The legislation was passed amid strong criticism from the Opposition, which has been calling it discriminatory, and triggered massive nationwide protests.

  • Jailed MLA Akhil Gogoi turns into instant sensation at Assam assembly oath session

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: As the newly elected Assam assembly convened on Friday, first time MLA Akhil Gogoi, who came for the swearing-in ceremony from prison with special permission from the courts, turned out to be a sensation with people including assembly staff rushing to take selfies with the jailed leader.

    Gogoi, who contested as Independent, became the first Assamese to win an election from behind the bars without any physical campaigning.

    He also became the first in Assam Assembly to take oath as a prisoner MLA.

    He has been arrested on terror and sedition charges after leading a movement against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

    Such was the craze among the Assembly staff to have a photograph with Gogoi that police, who were on duty inside the Assembly building in civil dresses, and House Marshals had to intervene.

    Dozens of Assembly staff huddled in the narrow corridor of the Assembly building outside Gogoi’s room, minutes after the House was adjourned after the first half, reminiscent of crowds outside the rooms of `rock stars.

    A lady member of the assembly staff, who declined to be identified, told PTI that she and her colleagues came to the isolated room, where Gogoi was kept after taking oath as an MLA of the 15th Assam Legislative Assembly, only to catch a glimpse of the RTI activist-turned-politician.

    “I have spent 11 years in service in the Assembly and never clicked any picture with anyone we all are very excited to see Akhil Gogoi,” she added.

    Police from the special cell guarded the room after crowds swelled and jostled to see the MLA, forgetting all social distancing norms amid a raging COVID-19 pandemic, and did not allow anyone thereafter to meet him.

    Gogoi who heads the newly formed `Raijor Dal defeated BJP’s Surabhi Rajkonwari by a decisive 11,875 votes from Sibsagar constituency in the recently held Assam Assembly polls.

    In the morning when Gogoi arrived in a heavily escorted convoy from the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), where he is undergoing treatment, he was seen being pushed by security personnel when the MLA tried to speak to media outside the main gate.

    “I am an MLA of this Assembly. How can you push and drag an MLA? This is an insult . No one can silence my voice,” he shouted while being pushed inside the Assembky buiding.

    Inside the House, Gogoi raised the issue with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who, according to the MLA, directed the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pijush Hazarika to look into the matter.

    Gogoi took oath in the name of honesty and sincerity, instead of in the name of God.

    Later talking exclusively to PTI sitting at the opposition MLA’s lounge, the Raijor Dal chief said I will raise the same old questions about welfare of Assam and its people, this time in front of the chief minister, ruling and opposition MLAs,” he added.

    Gogoi said he will raise his voice against any “anti- people” policies of the Assam government.

    “CAA, flood havoc, COVID-19 situation, universal vaccination, big dams — these are some issues which I will raise in the House,” he said.

    The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had arrested him in December 2019 for his alleged role in violent anti- Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests across the state.

    Gogoi was last year admitted at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) for treating COVID-19 and he remains there for other ailments.

    Though the Gauhati High Court upheld a bail order of Gogoi by a Special NIA Court, he is still in judicial custody as he was rejected bail in another case related to anti-CAA violence and is being investigated by the NIA.

    Meanwhile, 

    Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, his predecessor Sarbananda Sonowal, former Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia and jailed anti-CAA leader Akhil Gogoi were among those who took oath on Friday as MLAs of the 15th Assam Legislative Assembly.

    The swearing-in ceremony of all the elected members of the 126-MLA House was conducted by the pro-tem Speaker and eight-time legislator Phani Bhusan Choudhury.

    Sarma, Sonowal, Saikia, Gogoi and most of the other MLAs took oath in Assamese, while many took the pledge in Bangla.

    A few members also swore in Bodo, Sanskrit, English and Nepali languages.

    Gogoi and CPI(M) MLA Manoranjan Talukdar, however, did not swear in the name of God, but honesty and sincerity.

    The first session, which will continue for three days, was convened to administer oath to the MLAs.

    Governor Jagdish Mukhi will deliver his speech to the newly elected legislators on Saturday.

    BJP MLA Biswajit Daimary was on Friday unanimously elected as the Speaker .

    Daimary had submitted his nomination on Thursday in presence of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and BJP state president Ranjeet Kumar Dass in the assembly secretariat.

    The Congress-AIUDF coalition had not put any candidate for the speaker’s post.

    With no other nomination, pro-tem Speaker Phani Bhusan Choudhury announced Daimary as the new speaker and handed over the charge to him.

    Thanking everyone, the newly elected speaker said, “I believe I will be able to give a strong and positive message from the House to the people of Assam. All the MLAs will be able to speak their mind here. I will give equal chance to everyone as per the rule.”

    Congratulating Daimary, Sarma said many eminent personalities had become the speaker of Assam assembly and they added to the prestige and glory of the chair.

    Other leaders like former chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Congress Legislature Party Leader Debabrata Saikia, AIUDF Legislature Party leader Hafiz Bashir Ahmed, BJP Assam President Ranjeet Kumar Dass and AGP President Atul Bora too congratulated Daimary.

    Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi said, “We are very glad that an indigenous person from the Bodo community has become the Speaker. This is a matter of pride for all of us.”

    In February, Daimary was re-elected to Rajya Sabha following switching side to BJP from Bodoland People’s Front (BPF).

    He contested the assembly polls from the Panery constituency and won by a margin of 35,852 votes.

    The ruling BJP has nominated its MLA Numal Momin for the post of deputy speaker.

    He will submit his nomination when the Secretariat will call for applications for the post.

    Momin was elected to the assembly for the second consecutive time from the Bokajan seat.

  • ‘CAA, religious overtone of COVID big concern’: US report flags discrimination, violence against minorities in India

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: The International Religious Freedom Report for 2020, prepared by the US State Department and submitted to the US Congress, has expressed concerns about the discrimination and violence faced by religious and ethnic minorities in India.

    “Among the issues discussed were the Muslim community’s concerns about the CAA, difficulties faced by faith-based NGOs in the wake of amendments to the FCRA, and allegations that Muslims spread the Covid-19 virus,” the report noted.  

    It further observed that there were “reports of religiously motivated killings, assaults, riots, discrimination, vandalism, and actions restricting the right of individuals to practice and speak about their religious beliefs”. 

    The report is an annual document submitted to the US Congress that documents major instances of the violation of religious freedom across the world. It was released by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. 

    According to the section of the report that deals with India, US officials including those from the Embassy, during meetings with their Indian counterparts, have stressed on the importance of religious freedom and the responsibility of democracies to ensure the rights of religious minorities.

    India has consistently dismissed such reports from the US, claiming there is no locus standi for foreign governments to assess the state of its citizens with regard to rights that are guaranteed and protected by the Constitution.

    Saying that at least 10 of 28 Indian states have laws that restrict religious conversions, the report states that citizens must practice their religion in a way that they do not adversely affect health, morality or public order.

    Report praises Modi’s message of brotherhood

    The report took note of the message of ‘unity and brotherhood’ by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after members of the Tablighi Jamaat last year were being targeted in the wake of the first wave of Covid-19.  

    “Prime Minister Modi tweeted on April 19, ‘COVID-19 does not see race, religion, colour, caste, creed, language or borders before striking. Our response and conduct thereafter should attach primacy to unity and brotherhood’,” the State Department noted

  • Bengal elections: Poll verdict in Matua bastions crucial for BJP before CAA implementation

    By PTI
    BONGAON/KRISHNANAGAR: With citizenship for refugees having emerged as one of the poll planks of the BJP in its battle for Bengal, Matua bastions and the verdict they present this election will prove to be a test case for the party that had been weighing the pros and cons before implementing a new law enacted for the purpose.

    Assembly seats in the Matua strongholds of Bongaon and Krishnanagar, close to the India-Bangladesh border, are set to go to polls in the sixth phase of elections, on April 22.

    Matuas, who make for a large chunk of the state’s Scheduled Caste population, had been migrating to West Bengal since the 1950s, primarily due to religious persecution in erstwhile East Pakistan and then Bangladesh.

    With an estimated three million members in the state, the community influences result in at least four Lok Sabha seats and 30-40 assembly seats in Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas districts.

    Apart from the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), two other aspects — identity politics and regional development — have also surfaced as decisive factors this election, as bitter rivals TMC and the BJP go all out to woo the community with several promises aimed at solving local problems.

    “The TMC and the CPI(M) governments have done nothing for the Matuas. It is the BJP that spared a thought for the community. Hence, it promised citizenship.”

    “The BJP passed the CAA in Parliament. But the TMC has opposed it tooth and nail in Bengal. We will vote against this injustice,” said BJP MP Santanu Thakur, who is also the younger scion of the Matua Thakurbari — an influential socio-religious sect.

    Countering him, Mamatabala Thakur, a former TMC MP and the daughter-in-law of the community’s late matriarch Binapani Devi, said the BJP was fooling the refugees with false promises.

    “Matuas are citizens of this country. They don’t need any other proof of citizenship,” she said.

    The CAA seeks to grant citizenship to migrants belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Jain and Parsi communities who came to the country from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014.

    According to sources in the community, the citizenship law has emerged as a major issue among the community members as they are apprehensive that if the NRC exercise is conducted prior to CAA implementation, they might be branded as “foreigners” who had entered India “without valid documents”.

    “Most of them fled religious persecution in Bangladesh and migrated to India. Now, if we don’t give them citizenship, where will they go? CAA, for us, is not a political issue but a core ideological commitment,” Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said.

    Matuas, with their sheer size of the population and tendency to vote en bloc, just like the minorities, make for an enviable vote bank that all the political parties had tried to secure since the nineties.

    TMC chief Mamata Banerjee had first reached out to the Matuas and other Schedule Caste communities, such as the Rajbanshis, around a decade ago.

    She nominated members of the Matua Thakurbari as candidates in the 2011 elections, and that, in, turn, played a role in paving the way for her victory.

    However, the BJP’s promise to implement the CAA also paid off and the saffron party won all Matua-dominated Lok Sabha seats in 2019 and took the lead in almost 35 assembly segments.

    The TMC quickly went on a course correction drive and regularised all refugee colonies, giving them land rights, besides politically exploiting the delay and confusion over the implementation of CAA.

    “The Matua community knows what Mamata Banerjee government has done for their development. We don’t need advice from the BJP on what needs to be done. I would want to know why, despite tall claims, the Centre has implemented CAA yet?” TMC MLA from Habra and state minister Jyotipriyo Mullick asked.

    Banerjee, who has allotted Rs 10 crore for the Matua development fund, has cautioned Matuas that citizenship law would add to their woes, and the saffron camp may just classify them as foreigners following its implementation.

    Although the BJP is confident of pocketing Matua votes this time, the brewing resentment among a section of the community members over the delay in implementation of CAA may cost the saffron camp dearly in some seats.

    “In 2019, the promise of citizenship did wonders for the BJP in the Matua belt. But this time, the delay may spoil our chances to an extent. It is to be seen whether our message that CAA would be implemented soon still holds water in this region,” a senior saffron camp leader said.

    BJP national vice president Mukul Roy, who is contesting the elections from Krishnanagar Uttar seat, however, is certain that Matuas would favour the BJP over its rivals.

    “Various political parties, including the TMC, have betrayed Matuas from the beginning; it is only the BJP which is fighting for the cause of their citizenship. Matuas are firmly with us,” Roy, who is in the fray after a gap of two decades, said.

  • Haunted by Trinamool’s cut money culture, Bengal minorities forced to choose a lesser evil 

    Express News Service
    NORTH DINAJPUR:  Amin Ali has just finished his lunch of rice, daal and boiled potato at a roadside eatery at Goalpokhar in North Dinajpur district.

    He is planning to buy a tarpaulin sheet to cover the tiled roof his house before seasonal thunderstorms hit the region.

    He got a house under the state government’s housing scheme for the poor, but without a concrete roof over it.

    The 55-year-old brick kiln labourer had to pay Rs 30,000 as ‘cut money’ to local Trinamool Congress leaders for getting himself enrolled in the list of beneficiaries.

    As a result, he struggles with the stopgap roof of his house which gets damaged by storm almost every year.

    “There are many others who had to face the similar plight. I had no option other than paying the cut money. How could I build a house with concrete walls with my monthly earning of Rs 4,500,’’ Ali says.

    BJP has been making relentless attacks on the Mamata Banerjee government on the issue of cut money.

    But the campaign’s electoral impact seems to be missing in this minority-dominated region of north Bengal comprising two districts North Dinajpur and Malda where 21 Assembly constituencies are located. Whom will you vote for?

    “Do we have an option? We have to vote for those who have given us half a house. If they (BJP) come to power, we will be driven out of the country,’’ says the father of three, who migrated from Bangladesh 35 years ago.

    Extreme polarisation

    Sensing adverse impacts of the Citizenship Amendment Act and lukewarm impact of TMC’s alleged corruption on the region’s minority vote bank which forms around 50 per cent of the total electorates, BJP is trying to hard sell the Hindutva rhetoric.

    This region is set to experience an extremely polarised election on the line of religion. BJP faced largescale agitations over its choice of candidates, which is also a factor that might fetch TMC electoral dividend.

    Asgar Ali, a graduate in philosophy, is more concerned about his future than BJP’s Hindutva or TMC’s minority appeasement.

    “Practically, I don’t see a reason to vote for either. Joblessness is an issue among the youth like me which the TMC government failed to address in 10 years. Many from our area secured jobs of teachers in primary schools after paying bribes ranging from `10 lakh to `15 lakh. On the other hand, BJP leaders never hesitate to issue statements which not only hurt us but also makes us feel insecure,’’ he says.

    JP supporters during Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s roadshow in Nadiadistrict on Sunday

    The 27-year-old, a face of Bengal’s educated and jobless young voters, finds no reason to support the LF-Congress alliance as it would mean wasting his ‘valuable’ vote.

    “My political allegiance might be towards TMC. At least, they would be opposing CAA, which poses as a threat to us,’’ says the resident of Chakulia, another minority-dominated pocket in North Dinajpur.

    The electoral landscape in Bengal’s concentrated minority pockets was not as polarised during the 2016 elections.

    Though BJP is painting Mamata as anti-Hindu, Muslim voters had shown that she was not their preferred choice in the previous Assembly elections.

    In the districts of Murshidabad, Malda and North Dinajpur, which have a minority population of over 50 per cent, the CPI(M)-Congress alliance had won 31 seats out of 43. But in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, TMC secured lead in 23 Assembly constituencies.

    Debasish Biswas, professor of economics in Raiganj University and a political observer, described TMC’s surge in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as a fallout of BJP’s aggressive Hindutva campaign.

    “The minorities, who did not vote for TMC in the 2016 Assembly polls, extended their support to them in 2019. It is a direct impact of NRC and CAA, which Mamata Benerjee also described as a threat to the minority community,’’ he observes.

    How lotus bloomed

    Asim Biswas, a farmer in his 40s, said most of the Hindus had migrated from Bangladesh and CAA is promising citizenship for them.

    “When Muslims of this region united, Hindus, too, decided to come under the umbrella of BJP. That’s why BJP secured lead in this Assembly seat in the 2019 elections despite TMC winning the seat in 2016,’’ says Biswas, who has shifted allegiance from CPI(M) to BJP, like many others across the state.

    They are a massive factor behind the saffron camp’s rise in Bengal. In Raiganj, the headquarters of North Dinajpur which is infamous for hooligaism, shootouts and gang rivalries, TMC is trying to dent Congress’s vote bank after winning the civic body, which was ruled by the grand old party since 1950.

    The TMC also erected two statues of Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, the late Congress stalwart from the region.

    “A considerable number of Congress workers still carry Dasmunsi’s legacy. Congress has no chance of doing well in this region. Our attempt is to woo Congress supporters,’’ said Kanhaiyalal Agarwal, TMC’s candidate from Raiganj.

  • Foreigners married to Indians cannot enjoy OCI status after divorce, Centre tells HC

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Foreigners registered as OCI cardholders because of their marriage to Indian nationals cannot continue to enjoy that status after their divorce, the Centre has told the Delhi High Court.

    The submission has been made by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) while defending the decision of the Indian Embassy in Brussels, Belgium asking a Belgian woman to surrender her OCI card after the dissolution of her marriage with an Indian national.

    The woman has challenged in the high court a provision of the Citizenship Act – section 7D(f) – under which a foreign spouse of an Indian national would lose Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) status on divorce.

    Defending the provision, the MHA in an affidavit has said that the section under challenge makes a clear classification based on the intelligible differentia as it applies to foreigners who were registered as OCI cardholders on the strength of their spouse being a citizen of India or an OCI cardholder, and whose marriage has been subsequently dissolved.

    “The provision has the object of cancellation of registration as an OCI cardholder of such foreigners as they are no more eligible under the Citizenship Act, 1955,” the MHA has said in its affidavit filed through central government standing counsel Ajay Digpaul.

    The ministry has said that the woman was issued a Person of Indian Origin (PIO) card by the Embassy of India, Brussels, Belgium on August 21, 2006 on the basis of her marriage with an Indian national.

    She had legally divorced her husband in October 2011, and subsequently the PIO card issued to her on the strength of the marriage should have been cancelled, but it was not done at that time, the ministry has said.

    It has further said that an OCI card was inadvertently issued to her in 2017 even though she was not married to an Indian citizen or an OCI card holder at that time.

    The ministry has also claimed that the woman’s OCI status has not been cancelled yet and she was only requested to surrender the card.

    It has said that a reasonable opportunity shall be given to her to explain her stand before taking any action to cancel her registration as OCI cardholder.

    The ministry has said that foreigners like the petitioners may apply for a visa under the prevailing laws and rules to legally stay in India.

    The woman has contended that asking her to surrender her OCI card has no basis in law and “also violates the twin doctrines of legitimate expectation and promissory estoppel for the simple reason that she was already divorced when she received her OCI card on February 15, 2017.

    She has said in her petition that she received the OCI card when the Indian government merged the Person of Indian Origin (POI) and OCI schemes.

    “Hence, the concerned provisions of the Citizenship Act by way of which a foreign national married to an Indian citizen loses her right to hold an OCI card in case of divorce have no application to her whatsoever,” she has claimed in her plea.

    She had received her POI card in 2006 and it was valid till August 2021, the petition has said and added that she had divorced her husband in 2011 which was communicated to the Indian embassy in Belgium in 2016.

    She has also said that she has a daughter, who holds an OCI card, with her ex-husband and since during the prevailing pandemic tourist travel to India is not possible, their only hope of coming here to meet relatives was the OCI card.

    “There is also the very real chance that if the daughter of the petitioner travels to India and is stranded because of some sudden travel restrictions that might be imposed, the petitioner might end up getting separated from her on a medium-term basis,” the petition has said.

  • No plans to conduct NRC exercise in Bengal, CAA to be implemented: Vijayvargiya

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Countering opposition claims that the BJP, if voted to power in Bengal, will update the National Register of Citizens (NRC), thereby “taking away the citizenship rights of people”, Kailash Vijayvargiya, the saffron camp’s national general secretary, on Sunday reaffirmed that no such plan is on the radar.

    He, however, stated that the party intends to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and provide rights to refugees who fled religious persecution in neighbouring countries and moved to India.

    “We are only looking forward to implementing the CAA after the elections, as promised in the manifesto. It is an important issue for us, as we strive to grant citizenship to the persecuted refugees. We do not have any plan of conducting the NRC exercise, even if we win the elections,” he said.

    According to state BJP sources, the new citizenship law will benefit more than 1.5 crore people in India, including over 72 lakh in West Bengal.

    Accusing the TMC of “running a disinformation campaign against the saffron camp, the 64-year-old leader wondered why the ruling party in the state is opposing the CAA, which could be of benefit to many.

    Bengal has a sizeable population of Matuas, who had been migrating to the state since the 1950s, primarily due to religious persecution.

    The community, with its three million members, influences at least four Lok Sabha seats and 30-40 assembly seats in Nadia, North and South-24 Parganas.

    The TMC hopes to politically exploit the confusion over CAA implementation to curry favour with the Matua community, which had voted hands down in favour of the saffron camp in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

    Training his guns on Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her assertion that the “Election Commission was working at the behest of the BJP”, Vijayvargiya, who is also the BJP’s Bengal minder, said it was an irony that the TMC boss pointed no finger at the poll panel when her party registered two successive electoral victories.

    Contending that Banerjee’s “foolish claims” will yield no result, he said the TMC, sensing defeat, is levelling absurd allegations against the saffron party.

    “Mamata Banerjee never felt that the EC was acting partially when she won the polls. The irony is that when you were winning the elections, everything seems fine. Once you start sensing defeat, you blame the EC and the electronic voting machines,” he said.

    Exuding confidence that the BJP will sweep the assembly elections, with more than 200 seats in its kitty, Vijayvargiya also downplayed insinuations that the party could be at a disadvantage for not having projected a chief ministerial face in Bengal, and said “several leaders are capable of taking the reins of the state” and a decision would be taken only after the polls.

    “We are fighting the elections under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. We have never projected a CM face in poll-bound states. For us, ideology is important. Once voted to power, the legislative party in consultation with the top leaders will decide on the CM candidate,” he said.

    In an interview with PTI, the BJP’s Bengal minder further claimed that the people of the state are waiting to witness “ashol poriborton” (real change), as they have long endured infiltration woes, corrupt practices and the politics of appeasement.

    The call for “poriborton” was first given by the TMC during the 2011 assembly polls, as it sought to end the 34- year Left rule in the state.

    Slamming the Mamata Banerjee camp over its “outsider versus insider” debate, the BJP’s chief strategist in Bengal said that the ruling party in the state has nothing better to talk about, given its dismal performance in the last 10 years.

    The TMC has branded the BJP as a “party of outsiders” as its top leaders hail from other states.

    “The TMC wants to make an emotional appeal with its ‘Bengal daughter’ campaign. But I don’t think Bengal would get swayed away by this. This is 2021, and such issues don’t have much of an impact. As the party has no achievement in its bag, it clings to this ‘outsider-insider’ debate,” he said.

    Noting that people are fed up with the TMC’s “syndicate culture, appeasement politics and politicisation and criminalisation of administration”, Vijayvargiya said “corruption has percolated to the grass-roots level, and that has angered the people of the state”.

    Insisting that the BJP is keen on securing India’s eastern borders, which have turned into a “transit point for terror elements”, he said infiltration is not just threatening national security but also taking a toll on the country’s economy, as locals now have to compete with the illegal immigrants for jobs.

    Dismissing allegations that “communal polarisation has reared its ugly head in Bengal, with the growth of the BJP in the state”, the senior saffron camp leader said the TMC’s appeasement politics was to blame for the rise in identity politics, and his party, once voted to power, would put an end to this practice.

    Asked whether the rift between old-timers and newcomers over ticket distribution has been reined in, he said everyone in the party will have to abide by the rules and regulations laid down by the top brass.

    “During the last assembly polls, we had difficulty finding suitable candidates for the 294 seats. This time, however, there were as many as 5,000 aspirants. Thankfully, everything is under control.”

    “We have spoken to all workers, and they are back working for the party. We are a disciplined party, but we also practise democracy and everyone has the right to express their views,” he said.