CAA will provide Matua community with stability, says Shantanu Thakur
"We believe that CAA is a very big issue for our Matua society because those people will get a lot of stability and they have the right to live in India, so there is a trust in the central govt," says Shantanu Thakur
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Kolkata, Sept 9: Amid a political tussle between Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ) and Trinamool Congress ( TMC ) in West Bengal, Union Minister Shantanu Thakur on Friday (Sept 9) said that the Matua sect of the state has the power to change the political scenario and will play a key role in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The Matua community is believed to be the second largest part of the Schedule Caste (SC) population in Bengal. Matua voters dominate at least 30 assembly seats in Bengal, while they have a significant population in 70 seats. Apart from this, there are refugees who have not been able to get Indian citizenship to date.
After partition, a large number of people belonging to the Matua community came to Bengal from East Pakistan which is now Bangladesh. Such Matua refugees are spread over North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Jalpaiguri, Siliguri, Cooch Behar, and East and West Bardhaman districts. It is believed that after the partition, Pramatha Ranjan Thakur, a descendant of Harichand-Gurchand Thakur and his wife Binapani Devi, united the Matua community in the state under the shadow of the Matua Mahasangh and made several movements to get them Indian citizenship.
"The people of Bengal's major population consists of the Matua sect, which can play a major role in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Ever since the Citizenship (Amendment) Act was passed by the Central government, a belief has arisen among the Matua people towards the Centre and BJP, " he added. He further said that CAA is a very big issue for Matua society because those people will get a lot of stability.
"We believe that CAA is a very big issue for our Matua society because those people will get a lot of stability and they have the right to live in India, so there is a trust in the central govt. The CAA law is yet to be implemented and Home Minister Amit Shah has assured us that soon CAA will be implemented in West Bengal, we have full faith in the words of our Home Minister", Thakur said.