India News | Matuas Apprehensive About Future of CAA : BJP MLA

Kolkata, April 20 (PTI) Ahead of the likely visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to West Bengal, BJP MLA Asim Sarkar Wednesday said the delay in the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is fuelling apprehensions among the Matua community in the state about the future of the law and may have to hit the streets in case of further delays.

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Sarkar, a BJP legislator from the Matua community dominated Haringhata, said the delay was creating confusion among the people and the refugees from erstwhile East Pakistan who had trusted the saffron camp and ensured the party's victory in 18 Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2019.

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"The Matua community has trusted us, has faith in us and voted for us in 18 seats. There is worry among the as to why the CAA has not been introduced yet. The Matuas may have to come together and hit the streets to press for its implementation," he said at a programme of the community in North 24 Parganas district.

Prominent Matua leader and Union Minister Shantanu Thakur, who too was present at the programme, however, said, "CAA will be implemented, there is nothing to worry about it".

The promise of implementing the controversial CAA had been a major poll plank of the BJP in the last Lok Sabha and state poll. It is considered by the saffron party's leaders as a plausible factor that led to the rise of BJP in Bengal, which bagged 18 parliamentary seats in the 2019 parliamentary poll and 77 seats in the assembly election.

Sarkar also had a word of caution for the ruling TMC, which is opposed to the implementation of CAA.

He said if someone opposes the Act, then the entire Matua community will hit the streets in the days to come.

"The ruling TMC has opposed the CAA. The state must support its the implementation," he iterated.

Shah is likely to pay a three-day visit to West Bengal from May 4.

Senior TMC leader and a prominent leader of the Matuas, Mamata Bala Thakur alleged that the BJP has tried to fool the state's people with false promises of citizenship.

"The BJP was never serious about giving citizenship. It only misguided a section of the masses with false promises. Now the truth is out," she said.

The Centre has made it clear that citizenship to the eligible beneficiaries of CAA will be given only after rules under the legislation are notified.

The objective of the Act is to grant Indian citizenship to persecuted minorities like Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. After it was passed in Parliament widespread protests were witnessed in different parts of the country as many saw the law as a threat to their cultural identity and livelihood.

Members of the Matua community, who make up a large chunk of the state's Scheduled Caste population, had been migrating to West Bengal from erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) since the 1950s primarily due to religious persecution.

There are about 30 lakh Matuas in West Bengal and the community electorally influences at least five Lok Sabha seats and nearly 50 assembly seats in Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas districts.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)