'Will not allow NRC, NPR in Bengal': Mamata says her govt will decide who resides in state

KOLKATA: Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said she would not allow the Centre to implement NRC and NPR in the state.

"I will not allow the BJP to convert Bengal into Gujarat. They are trying to drive out people from Bengal. I will not allow NRC and NPR in the state. The state government will decide who will reside here," she said, while addressing a rally in Bongaon, North 24 Parganas, the Lok Sabha constituency where the concentration of Hindu refugees is high.

With an aim to woo the electorates belonging to the Matua community, the religious sect comprising Hindu migrants from Bangladesh, Mamata hit out at the BJP describing the saffron party "a political outfit which only lies and gives false promises before elections".

The saffron camp made deep inroads in the pockets where Matuas and Hindu refugees shifted their political allegiance from the ruling TMC to BJP. The party bagged both Bongaon and Ranaghat Lok Sabha seats with the support of the refugees who formed more than 55% of total electorates. BJP’s impressive performance in this belt is said to be a fallout of the party’s promises of giving refugees citizenship by implementing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

"I took all responsibilities of Boro Maa’s treatment. I have set up a development board for Matuas with a fund of Rs 10 crore and a university exclusively for the sect is under construction. The BJP gives false promises before elections. I am not like them I keep my words. All the promises I made for Matuas, I kept all my words," said Mamata.

Boro Maa was the matriarch of the Matua Mahasangha, a Hindu religious reformation movement.

Referring to BJP’s national leaders’ Bengal visits ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections, Mamata said: "Some hooligans have come to Bengal from outside and they are bringing RSS people here. They are visiting houses and offering them money. If you want to fight against me, fight politically," she fumed.

The Bengal CM, in his speech, said the BJP duped Matuas by giving them false promises of citizenship. "Both Bengalis and non-Bengalis, who are living in West Bengal, are citizens of the state. Who are you (the BJP) to talk about Hindutva?" she said.

The CM also hit out at the Centre on the new farm laws saying the new acts would help rich corporates snatch away farmers’ land. She demanded immediate withdrawal of the farm laws.