BJP leaders meet Matuas, assure them of Shah's meeting soon

With Union Home Minister AmitShah cancelling his visit to Matua stronghold Thakurnagar inNorth 24 Paragans district on Saturday, senior BJP leadersKailash Viayvargiya and Mukul Roy met prominent members of thecommuity and assured them that the central minister will holda meeting for them ''very soon''.

Vijayvargiya, BJP national general secretary and Roy,the party's national vice-president, were closeted for over anhour long meeting with party MP Santanu Thakur.

They told the members of the community that Shah'svisit to Thakurnagar was cancelled due to sudden developmentsin Delhi and that he will visit the place ''very soon'' andaddress the Matuas during his next visit to the state.

Former Trinamool Congress MP Mamatabala Thakur on theother hand said the cancellation of the scheduled meetingshowed that Shah had nothing concrete to offer to the Matuasregarding the citizenship issue.

Roy told reporters, ''Amit Shah spoke to Santanu Thakurover holding the proposed meeting on any coming day and askedthe organizers not to dismantle the stage originally erectedfor the meeting''.

''Please don't dismantle the stage and keep yourselfready for all last minute arrangements in 24-48 hour notice.

My office will keep you posted,'' Roy quoted Shah as havingtold Santanu Thakur.

Meanwhile Matuas living in pockets near the Bangladeshborder who had come to the headquarters of the sect lookeddistraught with the sudden change of plan and left the venue.

''Shah could not come due to developments in Delh. Heis a busy person. WE are ready to wait for him,'' a member ofthe community said.

Shah was scheduled to address the meeting atThakurnagar on Saturday during his proposed two-day visit topoll-bound West Bengal from January 30. He, however, cancelledhis visit at the 11th hour.

The Matuas with an estimated population of 30 lakh inthe state, can influence the poll outcome in at least 60assembly seats in Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas districtsof West Bengal.

The community is divided into two groups - one sidingwith the BJP and the other with the ruling TMC spurred by theNational Register of Citizens and the Citizenship AmendmentAct.

A group of them even demonstrated at Thakurnagaragainst the CAA.

The Matuas originally hail from erstwhile EastPakistan, now Bangladesh, and began migrating to West Bengalin the beginning of the 1950s, mostly due to religiouspersecution.