Mamata Banerjee on Thursday accused the BJP-led Centre of subjecting Matua people to "uncertainty" and "confusion" through the "political games" played under the guise of granting them citizenship.
On the death anniversary of Matua matriarch Binapani Debi (popularly known as Boroma), the Bengal chief minister issued a statement in Bengali on X, attacking the Narendra Modi government for questioning the identity of people who have long been citizens anyway.
"But it is very unfortunate that today, because of the conspiracy of the BJP government at the Centre, Matua brothers and sisters have been pushed into an unstable and confusing situation," she wrote.
"Political games are being played in the name of granting citizenship. Questions are being raised about their identity. They are being deliberately excluded from the voter list by the SIR," added the Trinamool Congress chief, after a lengthy reminiscence of her proximity to Boroma personally, and the community, generally.
Mamata has said that those who have been citizens of this country for generations, exercising their franchise and electing governments here, are now facing uncertainty in the name of giving them new "citizenship".
"We will not accept this injustice. Our fight will continue against the attempts to take away the rights of the people of Bengal, including my Matua brothers and sisters. We will not let any harm come to the people of Bengal. This is my pledge on this special day," she wrote.
Matuas form a large section of the electorate in dozens of Assembly constituencies, mainly in North 24-Parganas and Nadia, and parts of north Bengal. In the contentious SIR, more than 1.42 lakh names were removed from North 24-Parganas and 2.76 lakh from Nadia.
Matuas have been among the most worried since the start of the SIR, and many have publicly expressed their displeasure with the BJP. The community had largely started siding with the BJP in recent elections after years of loyalty to Mamata.
The names of 6,770 people have been excluded from the Gaighata Assembly constituency, 7,926 from Bangaon Uttar, 6,902 from Bangaon Dakshin, 15,303 from Bagda, and 8,778 from Jagaddal. In Nadia, 9,037 names were excluded in Kalyani, 8,042 from Shantipur, and 7,126 from Ranaghat Dakshin.
"Not all of them are Matuas, of course. But many of them are.... More than that, there's a fear psychosis that's starting to grip the community, and Trinamool is playing foul, trying to exacerbate these problems for its own political gains," said a BJP insider.
BJP state unit veteran Rahul Sinha, who filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, blamed Mamata for the confusion.
"This was created by her. Because of her stance against the CAA, she provoked the Matuas against filing for citizenship under it. That is why a large number of Matuas could be left out... those who were misled by her," he claimed.