Thakurnagar (North 24 P), Jan 24: With the centre yet to complete framing the provisions of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the All India Matua Mahasangha, an influential body of the Matua sect, would write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah seeking to know the reasons behind the inordinate delay that has made the community members anxious.
Beside writing the letters, the AIMM would also send a delegation to Modi and Shah with an appeal to accelerate the framing up of the rules and provisions of CAA for its implementation since the centre has so far missed the three deadlines with the last one on January 9.
“The CAA has become a milestone for us to reach. We have barely come across half way. The BJP led government had taken initiative for implementation of the CAA to solve the plight of the Hindu refugees who are mostly Matua. But the progress is not satisfying enough. So we would seek to know from them what is actually causing the delay. This has become very important to us as a vast section of people whom we represent have become anxious about the delay and we are answerable to them”, AIMM President and BJP’s Gaighata MLA Subrata Thakur told The NfN on Monday.
Claiming that the delay in framing the rules and its implementation have been misleading the community members, the AIMM, the key organization with leaning to the BJP, would soon held internal meetings for finalization of the draft of the proposed letters.
“The proposals for direct interaction from the organization have been proposed from many quarters inside the organization. So we would sit soon to settle it and prepare the draft”, Subrata Thakur said.
“We have already hold a meeting a few days ago. There will be at least two more meetings to finalise a memorandum. A delegation will subsequently meet the PM”, he added.
The CAA was passed in Loke Sabha in 2019. Since then the centre has missed three successive extended deadline. The centre is, however, so far sought no fresh time limite – the fourth dead line in real term, which has created speculation and apprehension among the Matua community members who have raising question about the intention of the Narendra Modi Government that assured the ‘citizenship’ status to woo them before the 2019 Loke sabha poll.
Matuas are lower caste hindu who are religiously persecuted and migrated from Bangladesh. The Matuas have been facing a sort of identity crisis in absence of citizen status. The community has strong presence in North 24 Parganas, Nadia, East Burdwan, Hooghly and some districts of North Bengal.
In 2019 lok sabha poll, the Matuas which was once a strong vote bank of Trinamul, supported the BJP being convinced of its citizenship offer. The support helped BJP to win both Bongaon and Ranaghat constituencies. But non-implementation of the CAA even after three years of Loke Sabha poll, has made the community members anxious. It also angered Shantanu who on January 16 held closed door meeting with community leaders in Thakurnagar.
“The CAA has become a milestone for us to reach. We have barely come across half way. The BJP led government had taken initiative for implementation of the CAA to solve the plight of the Hindu refugees who are mostly Matua. But the progress is not satisfying enough” – Subrata Thakur, MLA
Speaking to The NfN, Subrata Thakur said, “There has been a constant pressure of a large number of Matua people living in Bengal. They often call us and want to know about the reason for delay. They are anxious about the uncertainty”.
Sources in the AIMM said with implementation of the CAA appears to be not imminent and on the other side, the BJP leadership apparently ignoring Thakur rejecting his recommendations to include his aides to the state organizations, the community leadership wants to learn about the real intention of the government at the centre. Shantanu is also trying to pressurize the BJP leadership holding talks with some disgruntled senior leaders.
“For obvious reasons it has become our moral responsibility to convey the concern of our community members to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister in the form of letters. We have began this process along with the Sampark Yatra of the MP”, Subrata said.
“It is true that except BJP no other party at the centre had ever done anything for the Matuas. It has passed the CAA. But now repeated delay affecting the objective. We are waiting with much patience. But rival political parties exploiting the situation misleading our members. They are panicked. Since we represent a vast section of the society, it becomes our responsibility to ensure that they are not mislead and remain with us and at the same time convey their grievance and to the right persons in the government”, he added further claiming that the delay conveying wrong message to them.
The AIMM meanwhile planned to organise a free medical camp at Thakurnagar in a bid to interact with the community members to assess the pulse.