Bengal farmer, struggling to make ends meet, declared 'illegal migrant' by Assam Foreigners' Tribunal

Cooch Behar: A 50-year-old farmer from West Bengal's Dinhata, who has been allegedly served a notice by the Foreigners' Tribunal in Assam declaring him an illegal migrant, has triggered political slugfest between Trinamool Congress and the BJP.

Uttam Kumar, a resident of Sadyaler Kuthi in Cooch Behar district's Dinhata subdivision, said he was stunned when he had been served with a notice at the beginning of the year for allegedly "having entered the country illegally through Assam between 1966 and 1971".

"I have never gone outside Cooch Behar in my life. I was born and raised here. How can I be an illegal migrant?" a visibly distraught Uttam told reporters.

Uttam is a farmer with small holdings who struggles to feed himself and his family.

"I was served the notice in January. I don't read things well, so I showed it to my neighbours. That is when I learnt Assam has charged me with being an illegal infiltrator," he said.

The notice accuses Uttam of not submitting the requisite documents during police verification and hence has been declared a suspected illegal immigrant, according to the report.

Foreigners Tribunals, currently exclusive to Assam, are tasked with determining whether individuals suspected of being foreigners are indeed Indian citizens.

Political reactions came promptly, with the ruling Trinamool Congress alleging that it was another proof of the "BJP's anti-Bengali" attitude.

"All residents of the Brahmaputra basin, who migrated before 1971, are Indian citizens as per the Assam Accord. Even if we assume someone entered before 1971, they are legitimate Indians," said Udayan Guha, the North Bengal development minister.

"Uttam is a Rajbanshi, a son of this soil. This notice is outrageous. The BJP can't stand Bengalis. They are trying to repeat the NRC chaos of Assam here," Guha alleged.

The Trinamool Congress also issued a strong statement on social media platform X, lashing out at the BJP.

"A resident of Dinhata, Cooch Behar is being hunted like a criminal by Assam's Foreigners Tribunal. Despite submitting every valid identity proof, he's being hounded and asked to cough up electoral rolls from every election between 1966 and 2008. Smt. @MamataOfficial has made it crystal clear that witch hunts under the guise of NRC have no place in Bengal. We will not allow @BJP4India to turn our land into another detention camp," the TMC said.

"They did it in Assam. They want to do it here. And if they ever come to power, no one will be spared. As long as Didi is at the helm, the Bangla-Birodhi (anti-Bengal) BJP will not be allowed to touch a single hair on our people's heads. Let that be a warning," it said on the social media platform.

The BJP, however, rejected the accusations and instead blamed the Mamata Banerjee-led state government for the confusion over identity documentation.

"There may be one or two stray cases. But we hold the Mamata Banerjee government accountable for the situation. The lines between real citizens and those using forged documents have become increasingly blurred," a Bengal BJP leader said.

Thousands of infiltrators from Bangladesh have managed to create fake papers identifying them as Bengal residents and are now moving across the country as Indian nationals, he claimed.

Sushil Chandra Barman, BJP MLA from Mathabhanga, also questioned the state administration's role.

"Uttam is a registered voter. If Assam has served him a notice, where is the state government? Do they not have a responsibility to protect their people? This could be a deliberate conspiracy to brand the BJP as anti-Bengali," he added.