For the past few days, Isha Khan Choudhury, the Congress MLA of Sujapur in Malda, has been spending every waking hour signing application forms for corrections in Aadhaar and ration cards.
Amid the fear of a possible countrywide rollout of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), people are queuing up outside Khan Choudhury’s Kotwali residence to get the forms signed so that their documents can be rectified.
“So far, nearly 25,000 forms have been submitted to my office and we are spending hours clearing them as soon as possible so that people can submit them to seek rectification of documents,” said the Congress MLA.
According to him, anyone wanting to change details in Aadhaar cards or ration cards needs the signature of a government official or an MLA or an MPs for the purpose of authentication.
“The fact that there is widespread fear over the new citizenship regime is clear from the rush at my home and office,” said Khan Choudhury, nephew of A.B.A. Ghani Khan Choudhury, former MP of Malda who was also Union railway minister.
Over the past few weeks, Malda has witnessed unprecedented queues outside post-offices and banks for rectifications in Aadhaar cards and ration cards.
The fear, government officials said, was the outcome of the NRC exercise in Assam that left out 19 lakh people.
“With BJP leaders repeating almost everyday that the NRC would be rolled out in Bengal and the starting of the NPR exercise, people are afraid as they think that their identity documents need to be properly maintained,” said Khan Choudhury.
He said that despite all difficulties, he has told his aides not to decline even a single request as people are scared, more so because Malda shares a 165km border with Bangladesh. Most of those queuing up for his signature are Muslims, said sources in his office.
Khan Choudhury is seen signing forms even at the breakfast table and while travelling. Forms have piled up at his desk and in his car.
“I have no respite even when I am travelling. But I am not unhappy or annoyed. After all, my duty is to serve people. I learnt this from my uncle A.B.A. Ghani Khan Choudhury,” he said.
