West Bengal elections: PM Modi pledges citizenship for Matua Namasudras under CAA | India News
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday promised the Matua Namasudra community that they will get citizenship Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).“I promise before the members of Matua Namasudra community that they will get citizenship through CAA.” Prime Minister Modi He said this at an election rally in Bangaon, BengalVoting In West Bengal, North 24 Parganas and the Matua-dominant region of Nadia are heading into the second phase of polling on April 29 with an unusual complication. A large section of the electorate is unsure whether they will be able to vote at all.Uncertainty arose from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the Electoral Roll, which resulted in significant deletions in Matua-Vari constituencies. In North 24 Parganas alone, around 3.25 lakh names were omitted from the voter list after the exercise. Data from Bangaon sub-division, a key Matua pocket, shows deletion rates of between 67 per cent and 88 per cent among those under trial. In Gaighata, 16,222 out of 22,278 flagged voters were removed, and Bagdah saw more than 15,000 removed. Similar patterns were found across Bangaon North and South.Across Nadia constituencies like Krishnanagar North, Krishnanagar South and Ranaghat divisions, more than 90 per cent people under scrutiny did not make it to the final list. According to administrative calculations a significant proportion of the victims belonged to the Matua Namasudra community.Before his poll rally in the area, Prime Minister Modi also offered prayers at Thakurbari, the main temple of Matua Mahasangh in Thakurnagar in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district.His visit to the community’s headquarters, the shrine of community founders Hari Chand and Guru Chand Tagore, is seen as an outreach to Matua voters who directly affect at least 34 assembly constituencies and two dozen more on the Bangladesh border.Their support played an important role in the BJP’s strong showing in the 2021 assembly elections.Founded by Hari Chand Tagore in the 19th century, the Matua Mahasangha is a socio-religious movement that has historically worked for the betterment of the Namasudra community through education and social reform.Modi visited the Thakurnagar temple in 2019 and also paid homage at Orakandi in Bangladesh in 2021.
