A fresh controversy over the National Register of Citizens (NRC) has erupted after Uttam Kumar Brajabasi, a 50-year-old resident of Dinhata in Cooch Behar, received a notice from the Foreigners Tribunal in Assam, asking him to prove his citizenship by 15 July.
Despite being a Rajbanshi by birth and a lifelong resident of West Bengal, Brajabasi now faces the threat of being labelled an “illegal immigrant.”
The notice has triggered panic in border villages and turned into a major political issue ahead of the upcoming elections.
Opposition parties, especially the Trinamul Congress (TMC), have launched state-wide protests, accusing the BJP of trying to push NRC into Bengal through the backdoor.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, reacting sharply on X (formerly Twitter), wrote:
“I am shocked and deeply disturbed to learn that the Foreigners Tribunal in Assam has issued an NRC notice to Uttam Kumar Brajabasi, a Rajbanshi, resident of Dinhata in Cooch Behar for over 50 years. Despite furnishing valid identity documents, he is being harassed on suspicion of being a ‘foreigner/illegal migrant.’
This is a systematic assault on democracy. BJP is bulldozing constitutional safeguards, targeting marginalised communities, and trying to erase Bengal’s identity. This unconstitutional move must be stopped.”
The Trinamul Congress held a massive anti-NRC rally from Sitalkuchi to Cooch Behar. District president Abhijit De Bhowmik led the rally, while senior leader Partha Pratim Roy said: “BJP’s NRC agenda will never be accepted in Bengal.”
Meanwhile, Rajbanshi Bhasha Academy chairman Harihar Das condemned the move in a press conference, calling it an attack on a “bhumiputra” (son of the soil).
Brajabasi’s case has become a flashpoint in the NRC debate and could reignite identity politics in north Bengal as elections draw near.