The Trinamool Congress organised a march in Alipurduar district on Tuesday to protest against the alleged harassment and detention of Bengali-speaking migrant workers in BJP-ruled states and the Assam government’s move to serve notices on some residents of Bengal, asking them to furnish documents to prove their Indian citizenship.

The march was held at Jateswar in Falakata block, where Anjali Seal, a homemaker, lives with her family. Anjali had received a notice on Friday from a member of the foreigners’ tribunal in Kokrajhar, Assam, asking her to furnish proper documents to prove that she is an Indian.

Last week, chief minister Mamata Banerjee, while addressing a news conference at Nabanna, had referred to the notice served to the homemaker. “The Assam government is crossing the lines. They should mind their own business. How can they serve such a notice to a resident of Bengal?” she had said.

That Trinamool is desperate to use this issue to garner support ahead of next year’s poll was evident as Mamata presented Uttam Kumar Brajabasi, a Cooch Behar resident who got a similar notice from Assam on January this year, at the dais on July 21 during the party’s mega rally in Calcutta on the occasion of Martyrs’ Day.

Uttam also accompanied the TMC leaders to Boxirhat, an area near the Bengal-Assam border, where the party held a demonstration against the BJP and the Assam government.

Anjali, however, was not present at the march on Tuesday. It was learned that she had left for Assam with Nitya, her husband, who runs a barber shop, and their children to appear before the tribunal.

Almost all Trinamool leaders were present at the rally. In Alipurduar, TMC is keen to win back support, as in the 2021 Assembly elections, the party could not win a single seat in the district.

“People are perturbed over the notice served by the foreigners’ tribunal of Assam. We tried to get Anjali Seal at the rally, but she was not at home. In Alipurduar, such rallies will be held in every block in the coming days. We will not let the BJP intimidate the people here by using the mechanism of the Assam government,” said Mridul Goswami, a veteran Trinamool leader.

The BJP leaders were, however, critical of Trinamool’s move. “Trinamool tried to do politics by using Anjali Seal’s issue, but miserably failed as they could not get her on board,” said a BJP functionary in the district.