Matuas already Indian citizens, there’ll be no CAA-NRC in West Bengal: Mamata Banerjee

Making her stance clear to not allow the implementation of CAA and NRC, Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said that the Matuas in West Bengal were already been identified as Indian citizens and there was no question of new citizenship.

Addressing a rally at Matua-dominated Thakurnagar in West Bengal’s Bongaon, Banerjee said, “There are many refugees here. We have wholeheartedly accepted you. Know this, all you are [Indian] citizens. You don’t need any certificate. Now if they ask for grandfather and grandmother’s certificate, will you be able to provide!

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She further said, “I’m saying that all Matua peoole are Indian citizens. There’s no need for a certificate.

“Refugees come and settle at a place. That gets to be known as a refugee colony. In West Bengal, there were 94 refugee colonies. They were state government colonies and there were separate 250 central government colonies. We have declared all of them as refugees and made them Indian citizens.

“There will be no NRC. There will be no CAA. This is what BJP does. Throw away Bengalis from Bengal and turn it into Gujarat.”

Majority of the Matua populace, a Namashudra (Hindu Dalit) community in Bengal who worship the Thakur family as their guardians, are believed to have migrated from Bangladesh, erstwhile East Pakistan, during and after the partition.

Even though the Thakur family had come to India in 1946, the majority of Matuas crossed the border “illegally” after 1971 when Bangladesh was liberated from Pakistan.

While most of the Matuas have enrolled their name on the voter’s list, the 2003 edition of the NRC (National Register of Citizens) tagged them as refugees and infiltrators.

They continue to vote. But there have been reports of Matuas being denied caste certificates and passports, with the community alleging that the voter cards did not guarantee them citizenship anymore.

As a result, the controversial CAA, which has made it easier for non-Muslims victims of religious persecution in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan to get Indian citizenship, was welcomed with much joy by Matuas.

The roll-out of the Act would mean permanent citizenship for all them. Thus, the issue of renewed citizenship to Matuas has become a major talking point in the poll-bohnd West Bengal.

Matua voters, who are believed to be 3 crores in number in a state of around 10 crore population, were considered close to Mamata Banerjee’s TMC.

However, the affiliation suffered a blow after BJP made a massive inroads into the Matua community during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. It worsened further after Mamata Banerjee emerged as one of the strongest opposing forces of the CAA.