West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee accuses BJP of sidelining Matua voters through SIR

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday alleged that the BJP-led government at the Centre was pushing members of the Matua community into "uncertainty and confusion" in the name of granting citizenship.

Remembering Matua matriarch Binapani Devi, popularly known as Baroma, on her death anniversary, Banerjee claimed that the Centre was questioning the identity of people who have long been citizens of the country.Also Read: West Bengal: Two commit suicide due to 'mental stress' after publication of post-SIR voter rolls

"It is extremely unfortunate that due to the conspiracy of the BJP government at the Centre, our Matua brothers and sisters are being pushed into an unstable and confusing situation. In the name of granting citizenship, politics is being played," she alleged in a post on X.


"Their identity itself is being questioned. Through SIR, they are deliberately being excluded from the voters' list. Those who have been citizens of this country for generations, whose votes elect governments, are now being made to face uncertainty in the name of granting them 'citizenship' again," she added.

Banerjee said her government would continue to oppose any move that undermines the rights of the community.

"This injustice will not be accepted. Our struggle will continue against attempts to snatch away the rights of my Matua brothers and sisters and the people of Bengal. We will not allow any harm to come to the people of Bengal," she said.

Banerjee said she had a "personal and spiritual relationship" with Binapani Devi and had received her "motherly affection".

"On the death anniversary of Baroma Binapani Devi, I offer my humble tributes and pranam. Following the path shown by Harichand Thakur and Guruchand Thakur, the Matua Mahasangha has been an inseparable part of Bengal's social reform and renaissance," she said.

"Baroma nurtured these ideals throughout her life. Under her leadership, the Matua Mahasangha was established as a pillar of social equality and fraternity," she said.

Banerjee said her government had taken several initiatives for the welfare of the community, including setting up the Matua Development Board and establishing the Harichand-Guruchand University at Thakurnagar in the North 24 Parganas district.