Centre turned citizenship into ‘cash-for-survival extortion racket’: TMC

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday alleged that the ruling party at the Centre has transformed citizenship, a constitutional guarantee, into a “cash-for-survival extortion racket”.

It further alleged that the BJP has hijacked the Election Commission of India (ECI) and forced SIR on Bengal, pretending it to be a routine exercise with “no link to citizenship”.

In a post on X, Trinamool Congress on Monday wrote: “@BJP4India has transformed citizenship, a constitutional guarantee, into a CASH-FOR-SURVIVAL EXTORTION RACKET. It is a PREMEDITATED SCAM, executed step-by-step.” The ruling party in Bengal further alleged that Union Home minister Amit Shah, from a public platform, announced that SIR will be used to “detect”, “delete” and “deport” people. TMC claimed that this message was “blasted across BJP’s ecosystem” to “terrorise ordinary citizens”.

This has spread panic among the people who are anxious and many have already committed suicide over the fear relating to the implementation of SIR, alleged the ruling party in the state. It also alleged that citizenship is sold like a commodity.

“People lose sleep, drown in anxiety, and some even take their own lives out of fear that the BJP will strip them of their identity. Once the fear is ripe, BJP’s affiliated bodies begin running CAA “citizenship camps”, where citizenship is sold like a commodity, and desperate people are made to believe that paying money is their only way to survive,” Trinamool Congress (TMC) wrote on X. TMC earlier accused the BJP of monetising Matuas’ CAA applications, alleging that party leaders were collecting Rs 20 to help fill out forms and Rs 800 to submit them at CAA “camps” run by the saffron party in North 24-Parganas.

For months, the BJP-led faction in Matua Mahasangha office in Thakurnagar has been the hub of CAA activities, with leaders, including BJP leaders Shantanu Thakur and his brother Subrata, allegedly facilitating camps issuing ‘Matua identity cards’ and ‘Hindu identity cards’.

TMC claimed on X that these collections go to the BJP’s Delhi headquarters and accused the party of turning citizenship into a “subscription service for survival” while vowing that Bengal “will not be blackmailed, bullied, or bought.”