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Updated - January 05, 2026 08:39 pm IST - KOLKATA

People in large numbers wait to attend hearings under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls at Jadavpur Centre, in Kolkata on January 4, 2026. | Photo Credit: ANI

Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Monday (January 5, 2026) accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of “confusing” the Matua community and spreading fear around the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in light of upcoming Assembly polls in the State and ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of the voters’ list.

“In this State, there are around 60,000 applications filed under the Citizenship Amendment Act. Over 1,000 applicants have received citizenship certificates... It has been proven that CAA has no relationship with NRC or detention camps. With elections approaching, Mamata Banerjee has weaponised SIR to instigate fears of NRC,” Mr Adhikari said.

Also Read | Rectify glitches or halt SIR: West Bengal CM urges CEC in third letter

Citizenship has been a long-standing concern of West Bengal’s Matua community, a sect of Namashudra Hindus who migrated from erstwhile East Pakistan (Bangladesh) to the State since 1947. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) periodically assured the community of granting citizenship under the CAA — a law that allows persons belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014 to apply for Indian citizenship under a special provision.

During the ongoing SIR, cracks intensified within the Matua community. While one section including Matua leader and Trinamool MP Mamata Bala Thakur opposed the exercise over fears of disenfranchisement, another section of Matuas applied for citizenship under CAA, as advised by BJP leaders, in hopes of remaining in the final electoral roll after the conclusion of SIR.

“Mamata Banerjee opposes CAA, under which several people have applied for citizenship... She has spread confusion among people, created division in Matua society, weakened Sanatani Hindus and intimidated Hindu refugees from Bangladesh. BJP strongly condemns her actions,” the BJP MLA from Nandigram said on Monday.

Notably, a section of Matuas on Monday called for protests across the State, alleging exclusions of legitimate voters from the draft electoral roll published by the Election Commission (EC) on December 16. Anxieties of disenfranchisement had further deepened among members of the community after Matua BJP MP Shantanu Thakur recently said the community can endure the potential loss of one lakh Matua votes during SIR to ensure the removal of a higher number of alleged Bangladeshi infiltrators from the voters’ list.

Mr. Adhikari on Monday (January 5) wrote to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar refuting allegations made by the Chief Minister days before.

“It is her own administration and party machinery that colluded to sabotage SIR at every turn; intimidating field officials...through mob vandalism, veiled threats and bureaucratic hurdles, flooding social media with disinformation campaigns, and orchestrating orchestrated protests to create an atmosphere of negativity and fear,” the Leader of Opposition wrote.

He said the Chief Minister’s allegations in her January 3 letter to the CEC against the SIR process are “unsubstantiated” and “reels of political desperation”.

Published - January 05, 2026 12:05 pm IST

West Bengal / Election Commission of India / Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls