Ensure your name on voter list to avoid detention under garb of enforcing NRC: CM Mamata Banerjee

She was addressing a programme organised by the state government to distribute land ‘pattas’ (documents) to marginalised families from all districts

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Wednesday, asked citizens to ensure that their names are on the voter list to avoid getting sent to detention camps under the garb of National Register of Citizens (NRC).

“Ensure your name is there on the voter list, or else, you will be sent to detention camps in the name of NRC. We will not let such things happen,” Banerjee said.

The chief minister was addressing a gathering of "marginalised" people at Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata, in a programme to handover around 4,000 land pattas.

Banerjee said that the state government has already identified over 300 refugee colonies, and residents of all such colonies will be offered patta.

Also Read — Mamata voices anguish over violence on Meghalaya-Assam border

She pointed out how people in the name of major projects were being evicted without being adequately compensated. “The Bengal government does not believe in the policy of using bulldozers and bulldozing people’s land,” she said, asking people to agitate unitedly if such a situation arises, promising state government’s support.

The chief minister said that many people came in from Bangladesh before March 1971, and there is a separate agreement for those people. "At times they are told they aren’t Indian citizens, but if they aren’t, how did they vote?" Banerjee questioned.

“You became the Prime Minister because of our (common people’s) votes, and today you are saying you will provide us citizenship rights. What does it mean? Aren’t you insulting us?” she said, adding that such people have Aadhaar card, they avail ration and have names in voter list and vote.

The NRC, and citizenship legislation are politically sensitive issues in the state, with the state having witnessed protests on the issues in the past. The BJP leaders in the state have been optimistic about implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Bengal. This is expected to benefit eligible refugees (ones covered under CAA, and are from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan), who came into India – in Bengal’s case, mostly from Bangladesh.