With Nisith Pramanik maintaining a studied silence on the issue of his alleged Bangladeshi origin, the Bengal BJP leadership built up a dual defence for the Union Minister: First by vounching for his Indian citizenship — claiming he was born and raised in Cooch Behar —and second by offering him a CAA shield saying in any case the Citizenship Amendment Act would make him an Indian.
Dismissing the Trinamool Congress and Congress’ claims that Pramanik hailed from Gaibandha district of Bangladesh, North Bengal MLA Mihir Goswami on Monday said that he was in fact an Indian who did his schooling from Cooch Behar. “Nisith Pramanik is from Cooch Behar district … he studied in Lataguri school and later did his politics as a student in Cooch Behar … he is very much an Indian … let those who are claiming his foreign origin prove their point.”
When asked as to why the Minister was not coming out with clarifications, he said the onus to prove one’s case lay on the person who claims.
While Goswami made a case for his Indian origin BJP’s MP from Barrackpore Arjun Singh said in any case Pramanik was an Indian by dint of the Citizenship Amendent Act. “First of all he is an Indian and no one should have a doubt over it and secondly the CAA provides him enough immunity … He is an Indian by the force of CAA… the TMC is trying to spike the Centre’s move to empower the STs and Raj Bangshis of North Bengal which is why it is making an issue out of nothing.” Earlier Assam Pradesh Congress president and MP Ripun Bora demanded a probe into Pramanik’s alleged Bangladeshi background citing media reports on the “matter of grave concern that a foreign national is … Union Minister,”
Bora had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi referring to some media reports suggesting Pramanik was originally from Harinathpur in Palashbari police station of Gaibandha district in Bangladesh and that he had come to India to study computer science. The report said that the people of his ancestral village had rejoiced at his being appointed as the Home Minister of India.
“It's a matter of grave concern that a foreign national is an incumbent Union Minister,” Bora wrote to the Prime Minister seeking inquiry into it. The report had appeared in a Bangladeshi facebook post.