Weeks after senior BJP leaders demanded an Assam-like National Register for Citizens (NRC) in Bengal and in the wake of an intensified political campaign by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee highlighting the anti-Bengali venom that laces the NRC regime, the State BJP unit has asked its national leadership to tone down the NRC rhetoric, at least till the next year’s general elections, sources say.
According to inside sources, the State BJP has written to party president Amit Shah to go slow on NRC as the idea was creating large-scale apprehensions among the people. In fact, State BJP president Dilip Ghosh on Thursday clearly said the State leadership was more in favour of the Citizenship Bill than the NRC.
“I think once the Citizenship Bill is tabled and enacted, the NRC will not be required because that will provide enough evidence of a person’s citizenship credentials,” Ghosh said.
Incidentally, senior BJP leader and party’s observer for Bengal Kailash Vijayvargiya had earlier said that “the NRC will definitely be conducted in Bengal if the BJP comes to power here as it is also facing severe infiltration issues.”
Ghosh’s statements came almost in tandem with renewed attack from Mamata who called the BJP a party of riot mongers that was more involved in creating religious and linguistic divide among the people so as to capture power in Bengal.
Criticising the Chief Minister for “backing the infiltrators” he wanted to “ask Mamata Banerjee why she is siding with the infiltrators”. Attacking the Trinamool Congress leaders for playing vote bank politics he said, “Unfortunately some people are more concerned about indulging in appeasement policies and vote bank politics than the progress of the nation.”
Meanwhile, once again upping the ante on the BJP for dividing the people along religious and linguistic lines Mamata told a congregation of Matua community (a large part which migrated from Bangladesh to Bengal and even Assam) in North 24 Parganas how the BJP was throwing out the Bengalis out of Assam and Biharis from Gujarat and Maharashtra besides creating a division within the Matua society.
Bengal has about a lakh Matua voters in North 24 Parganas and Nadia.
“They are unnecessarily harassing a great majority of people who are Indian citizens. They are threatening to throw these citizens out of the country though they have genuine identity cards, caste certificates or similar documents,” Mamata said attacking the BJP and assured “you all not to get scared as no one can snatch your citizenship.”
Mamata was addressing the Matua community --- at Thakurnagar in North 24 Parganas --- on the 100th birth anniversary of the community’s religious head Binapani Devi.
Aware that the BJP was trying to take out a slice of Matua vote by offering tickets to some of Binapani Devi’s family members, Mamata said none had done so much for the community as her Government did.
“Now we will set up a Matua University in the name of the Matua religious head Guruchand-Harichand Thakur,” Mamata said adding the Government would also construct two huge gates identifying the Matua headquarters.
Incidentally Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also promised a great deal for the Matuas during his pre-electoral campaign in 2014 but “they have done nothing for you save giving lip service,” Mamata said.
