Dinhata farmer gets ‘illegal migrant' notice from Assam, TMC slams BJP

Indian Express

4 days ago

A notice to a farmer in Dinhata in Cooch Behar district from Assam's Foreigners Tribunal, declaring the 50-year-old an 'illegal migrant' has ignited a fierce political slugfest in West Bengal.
Uttam Kumar, a resident of Sadyaler Kuthi in Dinhata subdivision, said he was stunned when he received the notice in January, accusing him of entering India 'illegally through Assam between 1966 and 1971.'
'I have never left Cooch Behar in my life. I was born and raised here. How can I be an illegal migrant? ' he told mediapersons, recalling that he only grasped the charge's seriousness after neighbours explained the tribunal's ruling.
'I was served the notice in January. I don't read things well, so I showed it to my neighbours. That is when I learnt Assam has charged me with being an illegal infiltrator,' he said.
The notice alleges Kumar failed to submit required documents during police verification and now stands classified as a suspected illegal immigrant. Foreigners' Tribunals in Assam alone adjudicate such citizenship disputes.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) was quick to denounce the development as proof of the BJP's 'anti-Bengali' bias. Assam is ruled by the BJP.
Calling the notice 'outrageous', TMC leader and North Bengal Development Minister Udayan Guha said: 'All residents of the Brahmaputra basin, who migrated before 1971, are Indian citizens as per the Assam Accord. Even if we assume someone entered before 1971, they are legitimate Indians. Uttam is a Rajbanshi, a son of this soil. The BJP is trying to repeat Assam's NRC chaos here.'
On social media platform X, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of first deporting Bengali-speaking workers and now targeting lifelong residents. 'Despite documents showing his father's name on the 1966 electoral roll, Uttam is being hounded. But our leader Mamata Banerjee will fight this in court and on the streets,' he wrote.
The BJP, however, rejected the accusations and instead blamed the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government for the confusion over identity documentation. A party spokesperson described it as 'one or two stray cases' and insisted that the state administration must answer for blurred lines between real citizens and those using forged documents.
'We hold the Mamata Banerjee government accountable for the situation. The lines between real citizens and those using forged documents have become increasingly blurred,' he said.
Thousands of infiltrators, the BJP leader alleged, have created fake papers to pose as Bengal residents.
Sushil Chandra Barman, BJP MLA from Mathabhanga, also questioned the state administration's role. 'This is another baseless campaign of TMC. There is no truth in it. If this happens, the West Bengal government has to take responsibility for this,' he said.
—WITH PTI Inputs