Do not fall prey to BJP's promise of citizenship, Matuas urged

The Bangla Pokkho, anorganisation which propagates Bengali sub-nationalism, onSaturday urged members of the Matua community not to fall preyto the BJP's promise of providing them citizenship byimplementing the contentious CAA.

The BJP is trying to destroy West Bengal, leaders ofthe organisation alleged at a rally held against CAA and NRCat Thakurnagar, the headquarters of the Matua sect, whereUnion Home Minister Amit Shah held a public meeting onThursday, ahead of the assembly election in the state.

As soon as the COVID-19 vaccination programme ends,the process of granting citizenship under the CitizenshipAmendment Act (CAA) will begin, Shah had said at the rally.

''They (BJP leaders) are continuously misleading peoplein the name of citizenship. I will ask the people of this areanot to fall prey to their plan,'' Bangla Pokkho functionaryKaushik Maity said at the meeting.

Bengalis of BJP-ruled Assam are the victims of the NRCexercise, he alleged.

''Many Bengalis in Assam are being forced to go todetention camps and many of them are Hindus. Many Bengalisdied by suicide in Assam and most of them were Namasudras,''Maity claimed.

Matuas are also Namasudras by caste. Originally fromEast Pakistan, they are weaker section of Hindus who migratedto India during the Partition and after the creation ofBangladesh.

The Matua community, with an estimated population ofthree million in the state, can tilt the scales in favour of apolitical party in at least four Lok seats and more than 30assembly seats in Nadia, and North and South 24 Parganasdistricts. It once stood solidly behind the TMC but hadsupported the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

He said that the Bangla Pokkho is opposed to thealleged conspiracy of the BJP to divide West Bengal bycreating separate Gorkhaland state.

''It's our fight for survival. When someone wants touproot us from the ground, we fight by remembering the wordsof our gurus,'' Garga Chattopadhyay of Bangla Pokkho said.