Kolkata, Dec 1 (PTI) Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Monday accused both the ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP of using the backward Matua community in West Bengal as a vote bank while failing to support them as they face uncertainty over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Chowdhury, who led a rally of thousands of Matua community members in the city, alleged that the BJP had forced members of the community living in North 24 Parganas and Nadia for decades, many of them possessing valid citizenship documents, to undergo the SIR exercise again.
"There is a conspiracy to delete names of most Matua community members from the voter list. Both BJP and TMC are playing with their future. When members of Matua Mahasangha sat for an indefinite fast in the first week of November, neither party came to their aid. The Congress despite not getting any votes from Matuas will not let it happen. We will do everything so that not a single Matua's name is deleted," he said.
Chowdhury, the former leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, said he had demanded that the issue of Matuas facing disenfranchisement in electoral rolls be taken up for discussion in the winter session of the Parliament on December 5.
"The TMC and BJP stand exposed as they have not raised the demand or taken any initiative in this regard. Yes, the TMC has demanded discussion on SIR, but we want a separate, full-fledged discussion on the threats faced by Matuas," he said.
"BJP MP Santanu Thakur has claimed not a genuine Matua's name will be deleted in SIR. But when lakhs of Matuas face the threat of omission, he is silent and side stepping the issue. Similar is the stand of TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee who has not taken any tangible concrete steps to solve the problem," he added.
Sharpening his attack on the TMC, Chowdhury alleged that the "administration had sent notices to various Waqf bodies in the state seeking details of their properties."
"On the one hand, the TMC supremo claims she will not allow the implementation of the Waqf (Amendment) Act in Bengal. On the other hand, her administration is quietly sending notices to Waqf bodies for data submission for digitisation. Is this not hypocrisy? The TMC, which came to power with the support of the Muslim vote bank, is now helping the BJP government’s move to control Waqf bodies," he alleged.
Chowdhury, however, termed the rally by Matuas from Sealdah station to the office of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) as 'apolitical' having the only objective "to uphold their citizenship rights."
Reacting to Chowdhury’s comments, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said the Congress leader was free to take his own political position.
He claimed the TMC had used the community but failed to ensure its development, whereas Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched several development initiatives for the Matuas.
"Matuas need not worry about SIR. BJP is guaranteeing that not a single Matua's name will be missing from the electoral rolls. If someone's name is missing, he will get citizenship soon under CAA. Only Bangladeshi Muslims will be identified," Adhikari said.