Guwahati, July 8: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed shock and dismay over the issuance of an NRC (National Register of Citizens) notice by a foreigners’ tribunal (FT) in Assam to a resident of Cooch Behar.
“I am shocked and deeply disturbed to learn that the foreigners’ tribunal in Assam has issued an NRC notice to Uttam Kumar Brajabasi, a Rajbanshi, resident of Dinhata in Cooch Behar for over 50 years. Despite furnishing valid identity documents, he is being harassed on suspicion of being a foreigner/illegal migrant,” Banerjee stated in a post on social media.
“This is nothing short of a systematic assault on democracy. It is proof that the ruling BJP dispensation in Assam is attempting to implement NRC in Bengal, where it holds no power or jurisdiction,” she stated.
“A premeditated attempt is being made to intimidate, disenfranchise, and target marginalised communities. This unconstitutional overreach is anti-people, and exposes BJP’s dangerous agenda of bulldozing democratic safeguards and erasing the identity of Bengal’s people,” the chief minister stated.
“This alarming situation calls for urgent unity among all Opposition parties to stand up against BJP’s divisive and oppressive machinery. Bengal will not stand by as the constitutional fabric of India is torn apart,” she said.
Reportedly, the notice, sent to Brajabasi in December 2024, stated that he had illegally stayed in Assam without any valid document between January 1, 1966 and March 24, 1971. It further asked him to submit valid documents to prove that he is not an “illegal migrant or foreigner.”.
