NRC panic grips Bengal, rush for updated papers
BERHAMPORE/SILIGURI/NADIA: Five border districts of West Bengal have seen an unprecedented rush for updating key documents like ration cards following apprehensions that an Assam-like National Register of Citizens (NRC) can also be introduced in the state even though chief minister Mamata Banerjee has ruled out such a possibility several times. Union home minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah will address a gathering in Kolkata on October 1 on the issue of citizenship screening exercise at a time when panic over the issue has gripped large parts of the state.
Government officials in West Bengal claimed that a drive for issuing digital ration cards and the verification of the electoral rolls started last week has added to the NRC fears, leading to the heavy rush in the local offices. In villages, people believe that these documents are being updated as part of the NRC process, a block development officer (BDO) in Nadia district said on the condition of anonymity. On Tuesday, the CM accused the BJP of spreading fear in the state by campaigning on the NRC, because of which, she said, six people have died. Of the six alleged suicides reported so far, three cases are linked to the NRC issue, the police said citing first information reports (FIRs).
The five districts bordering Bangladesh — Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia — has high concentration of Muslims population. According to 2001 census, Cooch Behar has 25.54% Muslims, Jalpaiguri 11.51%, Malda 51.27%, Murshidabad 66.27% and Nadia 26.76%.
“Everyone in our area is telling that we would be driven out of India if there is any fault in our government documents. So I have come to the BDO office to get latest documents,” said Sabina Bibi, a resident of Basudebpur village in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district. Bibi woke up at 3am and cooked for her family before walking 7km to join many others waiting at the block development office to get their government documents updated. Thousands of villagers are waiting for hours and even overnight in different districts of West Bengal in front of block development offices and civic bodies to get errors in different documents fixed, or to obtain new ones. Khokon Mian, member panchayat samiti of Cooch Behar block 1, said: “There is great panic in Cooch Behar district that shares border with Assam, where the NRC left out about 19 lakh people. People are rushing to get the corrections done and get whatever legacy documents they can have,” he said. Aurobindo Biswas, block development officer of Krishnagar in Nadia district, said they have received 1,734 applications since September 20, which used to be 25-30 every day before the ration card verification drive began. BJP state unit president Dilip Ghosh blamed the chief minister for creating panic over NRC for “political mileage”. “She had made NRC an issue. She is leading rallies. Her party leaders are distributing leaflets. If anyone has really died due to it, she is responsible,” Ghosh said.