On one side the Chief Minister of Bengal, Mamta Banerjee said that she will not let CAA be implemented in her state, on the other, the Matuas are rejoicing the implementation and say that their long wait of 4 years is over.
Source: Hindustan Times
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The Matuas are Hindus who migrated, first during the Partition and later after the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, to India. The community members have long been demanding the implementation of the 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which seeks to grant Indian nationality to non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan
“It is like winning a battle fought for years. The sun has emerged to clear the dark clouds…. I was waiting for this day. Hope that from tomorrow I will be able to claim myself as a citizen of India and will no more be harassed by police,” Bijit Kanti Mondal, a Matua devotee in Thakurnagar, told The Telegraph.
The Matuas Could affect at least 8 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal this year. The BJP, implementing the CAA right before the election might be trying to turn the Matua community vote in their favor. The Trinamool Congress must watch out for these seats as the chief minister seems to Boycott the CAA implementation.
BJP MP Thakur said at a press conference at the party’s office in Kolkata, “The lives of future generations of people belonging to refugee communities have been secured today. It is a historical day for refugees in the country. This is like an independence day for them. Today their ordeal has come to an end. They can no longer be branded as refugees as the country under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brought in CAA which grants citizenship to these people. The effects of this will be felt in the Lok Sabha polls”, according to Indian Express.
The TMC has hit out at the Centre for notifying the Act ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. “We are already citizens of this country. We have Aadhaar and voter cards. We were elected as public representatives being citizens. Besides, a large number of people have lost their documents over the years. How would they prove their citizenship?” TMC Rajya Sabha MP Mamata Bala Thakur was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
Matuas: Origin. Why are they crucial in the upcoming election?
The Matuas are Hindus who migrated to India, first during the Partition and later after the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War due to religious persecution and communal tension. The Matuas, who predominantly belong to the Scheduled Caste Namashudras, the community, that currently constitutes the second-largest Scheduled Caste population in Bengal, have long been demanding Indian citizenship.
Source: Feminism In India
The Matuas can reportedly influence elections in about 70 of the total 294 Assembly seats. The community is believed to comprise over 15 percent of Bengal’s population. Matuas are present across at least five Lok Sabha constituencies in south Bengal, of which two – Bongaon and Ranaghat – were won by the BJP in 2019, noted News18. Bangladeshi Hindus – Rajbanshis and Namasudras – in north Bengal will also benefit from the implementation of CAA.
As per a News18 report, an internal survey by the BJP in Bengal found that its CAA move would impact at least five Lok Sabha seats across Nadia and North 24 Parganas districts and two three seats in north Bengal.
Given their influence in Bengal, and the contradictions between their demands and the CM’s statement regarding the CAA. The BJP seems to be the benefactor, and they might manage to win the seats because of the Matua influence in Bengal.
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