The Trinamool leadership in Cooch Behar took a “defiant” approach on Wednesday consistent with the stand taken by party supremo and chief minister Mamata Banerjee, asserting that an elected representative of the party served a notice by the foreigners’ tribunal in Assam seeking her appearance with some documents to prove the citizenship of a homemaker, would not go there.

Over the past few months, a number of residents in Cooch Behar have received notices from the foreigners’ tribunal of the BJP-ruled Assam to prove their Indian citizenship.

However, the case of Binama Barman, the pradhan of the Trinamool-run Hajrahat-II panchayat in Mathabhanga sub-division of the district, is different. She has been asked to appear before the tribunal at Nalbari in Assam with old records of the rural body to validate the documents submitted by a homemaker originally from a village under the panchayat and married in Assam for four decades.

Abhijit De Bhowmik, the district Trinamool chief, reached Binama’s place on Wednesday.

“Binama Barman will not go to Assam. She is an elected representative of Bengal, and the Assam government has no authority to call her,” said Bhowmik.

“Earlier, the BJP government of Assam was issuing notices to residents of Cooch Behar to intimidate them. Now, they are trying to intimidate elected representatives of our party. This is unacceptable. We will not let the BJP harass these people,” he added.

The homemaker in this case, Minati Roy, who is from the Dakshin Bhangamore area of Hajrahat-II, got married in Assam around 40 years back. In 2015, she received an NRC notice and collected some certificates from the panchayat to prove her citizenship.

“The tribunal called the pradhan to appear as a witness to confirm that the documents submitted by Minati Roy, which were issued by the panchayat, are original ones,” said a source.

On Wednesday, Trinamool leaders also met Minati’s relatives at the village, including her son Ramapada. "We gave all documents to prove my mother’s Indian citizenship. Yet, the process seems to be far from ending,” said the son.

Binama said: “I won't go to Assam to appear before the tribunal. It is my decision as well as my party's.”

Mamata has been vocal against such notices served to residents of Cooch Behar and Alipurduar districts. “The Assam government should mind its own business. It has no right to question the citizenship of people in Bengal,” she had said.