Thakur Nagar (Bangaon): Mamata Bala Thakur, along with her daughters and young grandson, is on a ‘fast till death’ in protest against their ‘eviction’ from their home. The Trinamool Congress member from Rajya Sabha blames her brother-in-law’s son, Shantanu Thakur, a Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party candidate for Bangaon Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal, for her ordeal. He claims that it is his fault.
“On April 7, Shantanu Thakur and his associates invaded my house. I and my family have been locked out of our home. We are forced to live in the kitchen and warehouse,” Mamata said. Mr. Bala said and added: She filed a complaint with the police and even went to court to seek justice for her.
“This is a matter of my family and I don’t want to talk about it to the media,” says Shantanu DH Home Minister Amit Shah was scheduled to speak later in the day and seek votes for him before heading to the election rally venue.
But the feud within the first family of Thakur Nagar is as much about control of the All-India Matua Mahasangha as it is about politics. The All India Matua Mahasangha is the apex of the Matua sect, a sect of Hinduism that traces its roots to the reform movements initiated by Indians. Harichand Thakur in Orakandi, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in the early 19th century. The sect is made up of Namashudras, Chamars and Malis who were treated as untouchables by the upper caste Hindus of undivided Bengal.
To escape religious persecution, large numbers of Matua people migrated to West Bengal and other parts of India over the decades since Partition in 1947. They currently make up nearly 17 per cent of West Bengal’s population and could influence the poll results. In at least 10 of the total 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state.
No wonder, then, that both the TMC and the BJP are keen to woo Mr. Matuas, as they always have before elections in the state. TMC supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee used to frequently visit Thakur Nagar to meet the community’s chieftain ‘Bolo Maa’ Binapani Devi.
Just before the 2019 LS polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also visited Thakur Nagar and met ‘Bolo Maa’ weeks before his death. He also paid tribute to Harichand Thakur during his visit to Orakandi in Bangladesh ahead of the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections.
The BJP is now hoping that the Modi government’s notification of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rules just before the LS polls could push Matuas to overwhelmingly support the saffron party. . “People in the community have suffered from insecurity, and the CAA rules will allow them to apply for citizenship for a secure future, which the overwhelming majority of the community has embraced positively.” says Shantanu.
The TMC, however, warned Matuas not to apply for citizenship under the CAA rules and slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party government for offering “conditional citizenship” to migrants from East Pakistan and Bangladesh.
“Most people have an Aadhaar, a voter ID card, a ration card, and even a passport. They are already citizens of India, but if they apply for citizenship, they are no longer citizens until the process is completed.” said Mamata Bala on her way to an election rally to support TMC candidate Biswajit Das in Bangaon. She added that most people would not be able to submit the necessary documents to apply for citizenship online under her CAA rules.
issued May 14, 2024, 19:41 IST
