The Hindu Community Trust (HCT), which identifies itself as a social and religious organisation, on Tuesday demanded protection of the voting rights of Hindus who had taken shelter in India at different times.

The Trust submitted a memorandum to the effect, addressed to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the chief electoral officer (CEO), to the Malda district administration on Tuesday.

The outfit's concern is centred on the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

“Around three lakh Hindu refugees and migrants from Bangladesh stay in Malda, Habibpur and Gazole Assembly constituencies of Malda district. Many of them were forced to migrate to India after 2002. Now they apprehend that their names will be eliminated from the electoral rolls because of the SIR,” said Sabyasachee Das, a representative of the outfit.

“The BJP and the central government suggested that the migrants apply for citizenship under the CAA, which is a prolonged and complex process,” he added.

Leaders of the Trust also alleged that the BJP-led central government and the BJP as a political party were “deceiving” Hindu refugees belonging to the Matua and Namasudra communities in the name of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

“We anticipate that these Hindus might not be allowed to cast votes in the next Assembly elections. The BJP claimed that illegal voters would be eliminated through the SIR, but now it is being seen that eligible Hindu voters will lose their right to vote,” said Das.

He said in the memorandum, The trust demanded that the receipt copy of the enumeration form be treated as a valid document to recognise Hindu refugees and migrants from Bangladesh as eligible voters.

“Otherwise, we will call for a boycott of the Assembly polls,” he added.

The BJP called the Trust a “Trinamool Congress–backed organisation that is raising baseless issues”.

“This is another disguised organisation that is using the Hindu name and is patronised by Trinamool. No other central government could think of a clear law for offering citizenship to refugees of Hinduism and some other religions who took shelter in India,” said Pratap Singha, the BJP president of the Malda north (organisational) district.

Trinamool, however, distanced itself from the Trust, while saying there was merit in some of its concerns.

“We have no connection with the Trust…. Ours is a secular political party. But the points they made cannot be ruled out. The Centre is actually trying to divide Bengal through the SIR, but now, people of all communities are suffering,” said Abdur Rahim Boxi, the Malda district Trinamool president.