A section of Matua community held several marches across North 24-Parganas on Monday to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the countrywide rollout of the National Register of Citizens and the update of the National Population Register.
Held under the banner of the Sara Bharat Matua Mahasangha, the protests had the backing of the Trinamul Congress which wants to gauge the community’s reaction to the Centre’s thrusts on citizenship proof.
The processions were held at places like Thakurnagar, Tentulia and Swarupnagar, which have a significant presence of the Matuas.
The BJP has been claiming Matuas will be the biggest beneficiary of the amended citizenship Act as it would solve the community’s decade-old identity problem by conferring Indian citizenship on them. A larger section of the Matuas had come from Bangladesh.
Attendance in the protest marches — according to police, nearly 3,000 people walked in Swarupnagar and about 2,000 joined the rally in Thakurnagar — made it clear that despite the BJP’s claims, the community had misgivings about the amended law.
“Officially, the rallies were organised by Mamata Bala Thakur of the Sara Bharat Matua Mahasangha. We helped the organisation from behind. We wanted to test the mood of the Matua community. The response is encouraging,” said a district Trinamul leader.
Sources said the ruling party-backed protest programmes would continue and once the agitation peaked, chief minister Mamata Banerjee would also visit the district to stand by the refugee community.
Although the Matuas had been with Trinamul since the change of guard in Bengal in 2011, the community, which has a history of voting en-masse, swung in favour of the BJP in the last Lok Sabha polls. The BJP bagged Bongaon and Ranaghat Lok Sabha seats, both dominated by the community.
Dilip Biswas, the president of the Sara Bharat Matua Mahasangha’s Swarupnagar block committee, said: “The BJP has been trying to mislead some of our community members over the citizenship issue. We wanted to make it clear that our citizenship was confirmed long ago when we got the land rights and became voters of this country. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has rightly asked how a person can be given fresh citizenship after he used his voting right to elect a government.”
Several Trinamul leaders who were seen in the rallies said the party was trying to retrieve its lost foothold in the areas by highlighting the confusions over the CAA, NRC and the NPR.
“We are trying to tell people that they should not be misled. The state government is with the Matua community,” said Bina Mandal, the chairperson of the Trinamul-led zilla parishad in North 24 Parganas.
BJP leaders in the district, however, said Trinamul was trying to confuse the Matua community. They said the BJP had fulfilled the long demand of bringing the amended citizenship Act to ensure citizenship to a larger section of the community who had come from Bangladesh in the 80’s or the 90’s.
Another section of the Matua community under the banner of the All India Matua Mahasangha, known to be close to the BJP, said the marches were part of a desperate attempt by Trinamul to win back the hearts of the community.
“The chief minister has become desperate to earn the trust of the Matuas. But the community has lost faith on her. They have organised some rallies with people from outside. Matuas did not take part in the rallies today,” said Arabinda Biswas, a spokesperson for the All India Matua Mahasangha.
The battle to win over the community is likely to intensify as the Matuas hold the fate of at least 30 Assembly segments in North 24-Parganas, Nadia, North Dinajpur and South Dinajpur.
