‘Matua East Burdwan panel unhappy with cancellation of Aadhaar cards’

Kolkata: A substantial population of the Matua community may not vote for the BJP in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections as the BJP MP Shantanu Thakur who had promised the wellbeing of the community, allegedly failed to deliver the same.

The cancellation of Aadhaar cards of many people belonging to the Matua community did not go well with them. All India Matua Mahasangha’s East Burdwan committee already waged a revolt against Thakur saying that the cancellation of Aadhaar cards of Matuas triggered confusion among them and they are unable to get ration and other government facilities due to sudden cancellation of these cards. Trinamool leaders have said that the BJP tried to cash on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) to woo Matuas but their move failed as the Matuas are utterly dissatisfied with the “double standard” approach of the BJP regarding the CAA.

The East Burdwan committee of All India Matua Mahasangha during a press conference on Sunday said that BJP MP from Bongaon and Union minister Shantanu Thakur did not deliver his promises. Moreover, Thakur also advocated for NRC. Aadhar cards of a large number of people in various districts like Nadia, East Burdwan have been cancelled. A sizable number of people among the victims belong to the Matua community.

Incidentally Union minister Thakur during a public rally in Kakdwip, South 24-Parganas on January 29 claimed that the CAA will be implemented across the country within a week. Ruling Trinamool in Bengal, on the other hand, dismissed the claim as ‘poll rhetoric’ while vowing to prevent CAA implementation in the state. Thakur, the BJP MP from Bongaon Lok Sabha seat, which has a substantial population of Matua community, outlined plans for swift implementation of the contentious legislation.

A section of Matuas voted for the BJP during the Lok Sabha polls in 2019 and Bengal assembly elections in 2021. They later switched to Trinamool Congress in 2023. They waited for five years for the Modi government to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), hoping that it would clarify their citizenship status. But most of these Matuas, especially the women, have shifted their allegiance to the Mamata Banerjee government as its Lakshmir Bhandar incentive programme has given a major financial boost to them.