Modi dodges Matua citizenship issue in virtual Bengal rally

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first visit to West Bengal after his Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) setback proved disappointing, with bad weather keeping him off the venue and his virtual address offering little reassurance to the Matua community on electoral roll revisions.

His helicopter could not land at Taherpur in the state's Nadia district due to low visibility. As a result, he had to return to Kolkata airport and address the rally virtually over the phone.

Visit comes amid Matuas' citizenship concern

The prime minister's visit comes at a time when a significant number of Matua community members have not been included in Bengal’s draft voter lists, and many more may miss out on the final rolls due to the unavailability of the specific documents required by the Election Commission during verification hearings.

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Recent election outcomes indicate that a large section of the Matua community supported the BJP, seemingly influenced by the party’s assurances of formal Indian citizenship.

The prospect of being removed from the voter list has once again stirred fears of losing citizenship among a significant segment of the community, causing electoral concern for the saffron party.

In the North 24 Parganas district, home to the largest concentration of the Matuas, a Dalit community, and with seven reserved seats for the Scheduled Castes (SC), the citizenship concerns triggered by the SIR are particularly pronounced.

Among these SC-reserved constituencies, Gaighata has 39,357 unmapped voters, followed by Bagdah with 37,088, Bangaon Uttar with 30,717, Bangaon Dakshin with 28,967, Habra with 36,087, and Ashoknagar with 31,923.

Also read: Modi refers to Vande Mataram creator as ‘Bankim da’; TMC up in arms

In the Matua belt of Nadia district, Kalyani has 33,185 unmapped voters, followed by Ranaghat Uttar Purba (SC) with around 31,891, Krishnaganj (SC) with 30,024, Ranaghat Uttar Paschim with 28,805, Ranaghat Dakshin (SC) with roughly 27,595, and Chakdah with 22,933.

Matua leaders from across party lines stated that a significant number of these voters belong to their community.

Addressing the rally ahead of the prime minister’s speech, BJP leaders — from Bangaon MP Shantanu Thakur to Ranaghat MP Jagannath Sarkar — sought to reassure the Matua community that Modi would address their concerns.

Sarkar said the BJP supports granting citizenship to all Hindus who migrated to India from Bangladesh up to 2024 and that Parliament can ensure this through legislation, raising hopes that the prime minister might make a major announcement to address the community’s citizenship concerns.

“We demand that all those who have migrated to India up to 2024 should be granted unconditional citizenship. Why should we be made victims of a partition that occurred without the consent of the people? We had expected at least an assurance from the prime minister on this issue,” said Ranjit Bains, a Matua social worker who used to be a BJP supporter.

Modi silent on citizenship issue

Modi’s brief speech was silent on the contentious issue of citizenship, drawing sharp criticism from the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), which has opposed the SIR exercise throughout.

Also read: Bengal SIR: Matuas face disproportionately high deletion risk

Modi’s only visible outreach to the Matua community came when he began his speech with 'Jai Nitai,' invoking the 15th-century Vaishnavite saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He later referred to prominent Matua leaders such as Harichand Thakur, Guruchand Thakur, and 'Boro Maa' (Binapani Devi).

His speech focused on criticising alleged infiltrators in an attempt to garner support for the SIR. He claimed that the ruling TMC is opposing the SIR solely to shield infiltrators.

Referring to the “go back” posters put up against him in several Matua-dominated areas, Modi said that instead of asking him to go back, the TMC should have called for infiltrators to be sent back.

In his speech, the PM focused largely on the need to give the BJP an opportunity to form a government in Bengal next year to ensure rapid development and fulfil the people’s aspirations.

He accused the TMC government of promoting a culture of ‘cut money’ (unofficial commission or bribe), alleging that corruption had stalled development projects worth thousands of crores of rupees and deprived people of their benefits.

Also read: Bengal Matuas seek audience with Rahul Gandhi: Are they eyeing third option?

He said that Bengal’s progress was possible only through a “double-engine” government, with the same party in power at both the Centre and the state.

He also alleged that a “maha jungle raj” continues in the state despite the end of Left rule, blaming the TMC for the state’s lack of development.

Linking the BJP’s recent electoral success in neighbouring Bihar to its prospects in Bengal, Modi expressed confidence that his party would end what he described as “jungle raj” in the state.

Beginning his address with an apology to BJP workers and supporters because of his inability to reach the scheduled venue, Modi said adverse weather conditions had disrupted the plans.

Also read: Bengal’s Matuas wait and watch, refuse to take CAA bait as poll battle hots up

Taking a dig at the prime minister for not assuaging the Matua community’s alleged fears over citizenship, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said he had missed an opportunity to send across the right message to the beleaguered community.

TMC flays Modi, BJP after 4 die in train hit

The TMC also took a dig at Modi and the BJP after four people were killed after being hit by a local train while they were on their way to attend the PM’s rally in Taherpur. Three of them died on the spot, while one was later declared dead by doctors in the hospital.

In a detailed post on X, the party said people were brought in from other districts for the PM’s rally, “herded like sheep and cattle, with no safety protocols, no crowd management, and no concern for human life. And the inevitable happened”.

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

They said the deceased persons sacrificed their lives to “feed the ego of ONE MAN and the vanity of ONE PARTY”.

The party claimed that Modi’s rally was being held on the "corpses of the people of Bengal".