West Bengal: BJP on the back foot as Aadhaar deactivation irks influential Matua community

The BJP on Monday (February 19) plunged into damage-control mode after the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) deactivated Aadhaar number of thousands of Hindu Bengalis in West Bengal, raising questions about their “stay in India,” sparking a political storm.

Putting the blame on UIDAI for the “faux pas,” BJP state leaders claimed that the numbers would be activated soon.

The Centre or the UIDAI authority, however, is yet to make any official statement about reactivating the numbers.

What the UIDAI letter said

Several residents in districts bordering Bangladesh received letters from the UIDAI’s regional office in Ranchi, Jharkhand, about deactivation of their Aadhaar number.

“The undersigned is directed to inform that Aadhaar number XXXX XXXX XXXX issued to you has been deactivated under the provisions of regulation 28A of Aadhaar (Enrolment and Update) Regulations, 2016, for the reason that the requirements for your stay in India are not fulfilled,” read a letter made available to The Federal by an affected person from Nadia district.

The letter issued on February 5 said any complaint in respect of such deactivation may be addressed through the grievance redressal mechanism of the UIDAI.

“In the past fortnight, thousands of people from the Matua community got such a notice, leading to deactivation of their bank accounts,” said All India Namasudra Bikash Parisad leader Mukul Chandra Bairagya.

Matuas are Namasudras, a Scheduled Caste group of Bengal. They have migrated from the erstwhile East Pakistan and later Bangladesh due to communal tension in that country. Many of them have still not got an Indian citizenship.

Centre trying to turn Bengal into Assam: Mamata Banerjee

Reacting to the UIDAI’s decision, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that the Centre is trying to make stateless citizens in Bengal. “They (Centre) are trying to make Assam-like detention centres here. But we will not allow this in Bengal,” she said.

She said the state government would start a portal to register names of those whose cards have been deactivated. Once the database is ready, the state will issue them a separate card with which they can do their banking and other activities, she claimed.

The deactivation has rekindled the fear of losing citizenship among the “victims,” mostly from the Matua community.

BJP’s citizenship promises to Matuas

The BJP had promised the community that its members will be granted Indian citizenship under the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019. But till date the party-led government at the Centre has not implemented the act. The non-fulfilment of the promise eroded the BJP’s support base among the community.

With an estimated population of about 30 lakh in the state, Matuas can influence results in at least five Lok Sabha seats in the state.

Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections when the BJP is once again promising the community citizenship under the CAA, the UIDAI’s decision has put the party in a tight spot.

“The CAA will be implemented before the elections. No one should have any confusion about it,” Union home minister Amit Shah had promised earlier this month.

Matuas to stage statewide protest

Many from the Matua community say the deactivation of Aadhaar numbers is a ploy by the BJP-led Centre to first deny citizenship to some Bengali Hindus and give it back to them through CAA, and take credit for the same.

The Namasudra Bikash Parisad has decided to launch a statewide agitation against the Aadhaar deactivation and also planned a dharna in New Delhi on March 5.

The parishad is also contemplating taking a legal recourse.

“Deactivating Aadhaar number without serving any show-cause notice is the violation of natural justice. Moreover, the deactivation of the number for not fulfilling requirements to stay in India is not legally tenable as Aadhaar is not a citizenship document,” said Arindam Das, a senior advocate of the Calcutta High Court.

Damage control

Realising that the deactivation move might electorally backfire for the BJP in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections, the party is now busy clearing the mess.

State BJP leader and Union minister of state for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shantanu Thakur apologised to the people for the difficulties they faced because of the deactivation.

He claimed that the whole problem was created due to some technical glitches at the UIDAI.

“I discussed the issue with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. They have entrusted me to sort out the problem,” Thakur told the media in New Delhi. Another BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said he got assurance from the central leaders that the issue would be sorted out in the next 24 hours.