Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday countered the Trinamool Congress' claims that several voters from the Matua community in West Bengal will lose their voting rights following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the state, underlining that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not only determined to protect the voting rights of the Matuas and other religious refugees in West Bengal but also ensure their long-term development.
"I request the people from the Matua community, as well as people coming to West Bengal from the neighbouring country because of religious oppression, not to be scared. It is my guarantee that their interests will be protected and citizenship will be granted to them under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). If a government led by the BJP comes to power in West Bengal, it will work for the social development of the Matuas as well as people from other backward class communities," the Prime Minister said while addressing a public rally in Malda district of West Bengal on Saturday.
Matuas are people from socially disadvantaged backgrounds from neighbouring Bangladesh who come to West Bengal as refugees and settle in different parts of the eastern state, with a concentration in Nadia and North 24 Parganas districts.
Since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has been able to develop a stronghold in the Matua-dominated pockets in West Bengal.
Speaking on the occasion, he launched a scathing attack against the Trinamool Congress, accusing it of encouraging illegal infiltration from neighbouring Bangladesh. (IANS)
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