Mamata Banerjee on Monday said the Citizenship Amendment Act would put Matuas in deep trouble as the altered law would force those who had already become Indians to apply for citizenship afresh.
The chief minister’s interpretation of the CAA was aimed at driving a wedge between the BJP and the Matuas, lower caste Hindus, most of whom were believed to have supported the saffron party in the 2019 general election.
“Many of you have been living here for over 50 years...You are all naturally Indian citizens. How can they offer you citizenship through the act?” the Trinamul Congress chief asked at a rally in Habibpur, which is considered as a Matua stronghold in Nadia.
“Once you apply for citizenship, you will become a foreigner,” she added during her half an hour address. It was clear that Mamata’s visit to Habibpur was aimed at wooing the Matuas back to the Trinamul fold at a time the delay in the implementation of the CAA created discontent in the community. In her mission to drill holes into the BJP’s narrative that the CAA would solve all the problems that the immigrant community was facing, the chief minister tried her best to explain her version of the new act.
“The BJP has brought this act which will ask you the date of birth of your grandparents and unless you submit papers, they will drive you out of the country,” she said.
After explaining what the implementation of the new act may meant for the Matuas, the chief minister promised that whoever had come to Bengal and lived here for years had become Indian citizens naturally and nobody could drive them out.
“I as the chief minister of Bengal assure you that no one can drive you out of this state,” said Mamata to a thunderous applause.
The chief minister also said her government was determined to give free-hold land rights to the residents of 300-odd refugee colonies in the state soon to ensure that they didn’t face any question over their citizenship.
“Residents of 96 refugee colonies have already got the land rights. A process has begun to provide free hold deeds to 213 more colonies which will ensure your rights,” she said.
Sources in the state administration said the chief minister was keen to resolve the practical problems the Matuas were facing.
“It becomes difficult for many from the community to get a passport as they cannot produce proper documents to establish their address. They are often denied bank loans because of the same problem. The chief minister wanted to solve the problem the Matuas are facing by giving them a proper address,” said an official.
Trinamul insiders said the move was a smart one as it would help them convince the Matuas that they didn’t need to depend on the BJP for implementing the CAA as they would get land records in their names to get rid of their perennial problems ahead of the Assembly polls.
“The prime target is to convince the Matuas that they don’t need an Act to be citizens. The chief minister was eager to send a message before Amit Shah visits Bongaon later this month to address the Matuas on the implementation of the CAA,” said a Trinamul MLA from North 24-Parganas.
