BJP leaders in Cooch Behar district have planned to launch a raft of political programmes over chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s remarks on the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam.
The Opposition party is also planning to garner support ahead of the proposed “Rathayatra” that would be flagged off from Cooch Behar by BJP president Amit Shah in December.
“A couple of days ago, the chief minister was here (Cooch Behar) and openly invited people from Assam whose names are not there in the NRC. We doubt if she has any concern for the residents of the bordering districts such as Cooch Behar,” said Malati Rava, the district BJP president.
“So far, there hasn’t been any exodus from Assam, but such an open call and that too by the head of the state can influence a section of people. It can also encourage others with vested interests to try and enter Bengal. In areas like Cooch Behar, it can affect the local economy, demography and law and order. We will raise this issue in our campaign,” Rava added.
The BJP leadership will also point that while Mamata had invited such people to her state, she had not spoken about helping those from Bengal staying in Assam and facing problems in collecting documents to get their names included in the NRC.
According to BJP, hundreds of women from Cooch Behar and Alipurduar districts have got married in Assam. There are youths and men who are employed in Assam.
“A major section of them are yet to find their names in the NRC and are running from pillar to post here to collect official documents. If the chief minister is so concerned about them, she should have passed a clear instruction to government officials that these people should be helped with documents and also speedy verification of papers. But we have not heard of any such directive,” Rava said.
The BJP, which has emerged as the second major political force in Cooch Behar in the past four-five years, is eyeing disgruntled Trinamul leaders.
Because of alleged infighting in Trinamul that has even claimed lives, there are leaders and workers who are said to be disgruntled with the party.
“Our local leaders have been asked to start informal talks with them so that they can be brought on board. There are many Trinamul workers who are in touch with us but are not speaking in the open as they are apprehensive of inviting the ire of party leaders,” said Nikhil Ranjan Dey, a senior BJP leader.
The BJP is also making preparations for the public meeting and the commencement of the “Rathayatra” on December 7.
Trinamul leaders said they were not perturbed by the activities of the BJP.
“The BJP’s divisive politics will not work in Cooch Behar. The people are with us and will continue to support us, whether in the rural elections or in the upcoming parliamentary polls. Residents do not approve of the manner in which the BJP is trying to misinterpret the chief minister’s statements with political intentions,” said Rabindranath Ghosh, north Bengal development minister and Cooch Behar Trinamul president.