Balurhat: A village in South Dinajpur district has come into the spotlight after a large number of residents received citizenship certificates under the provisions of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The development has created what many say is a rare example not only in the district but also across the state.
Around 150 residents of Brahman Gram under Punduri Gram Panchayat in Harirampur Block had applied for citizenship certificates. Among them, nearly 80 have already received their CAA certificates, while the remaining applicants have been assured that their documents will be issued soon.
The village has nearly 450 families, of which about 150 families migrated from Bangladesh. Many among them do not possess voter identity cards. Since they had migrated from Bangladesh, several residents could not produce the required documents during the Special Intensive Revision process of the electoral roll. As a result, many names were excluded from the final voters’ list, while several others were placed under the adjudication category.
Following the situation, nearly 150 villagers applied for citizenship under the CAA. More than half of them have already received the certificates.
In the Daulatpur area of the Harirampur Assembly constituency, seven members of a single family have received citizenship certificates. Among them is 80-year-old Abhaycharan Pal, who expressed happiness after receiving the document.
Residents Madhab Chandra Pal and Shankar Pal said they had migrated from Bangladesh in 1987.
“Although we had voter cards earlier, many names from our village were deleted after the revision process began. Some names are still under adjudication. We then applied under the CAA. From the end of last month till now, 80 people have received the certificates. Every day, around 8–10 certificates arrive. After receiving the citizenship certificate, we no longer feel afraid. We are now officially citizens of India,” Shankar Pal said. Local school teacher and member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha, Jagatpati Pal, said they had extended all possible help to the applicants during the process. “More than half have already received their certificates and the rest will get them soon,” he added.
Meanwhile, TMC alleged that such a requirement wouldn’t have surfaced if the electoral revision process had been conducted properly, while BJP alleged that the ruling party had deliberately deleted the names of Hindu voters..