Latest news with #Koch-Rajbanshi
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
West Bengal resident who got notice over citizenship is from Assam, says Himanta
GUWAHATI A resident of West Bengal, who received a notice from a Foreigners' Tribunal (FT), was a citizen of Assam but he should have informed the tribunal that his community has been exempted from citizenship cases, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswas Sarma said on Thursday evening. He was responding to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's statement that an Assam tribunal issued a notice over citizenship to Uttam Kumar Brajabasi, a resident of Cooch Behar district's Dinhata for 50 years and a member of the Koch-Rajbanshi community. An FT is a quasi-judicial set-up that tries cases of people suspected and marked as foreigners by the border wing of the Assam Police. Depending on the FT's verdict, a person is detained and deported to the country of his or her origin. 'Brajabasi is not a citizen of Bengal, where he went temporarily. He is a citizen of Assam,' Mr. Sarma said. 'The notice he received is a judicial process, but the State government has recommended the withdrawal of citizenship cases against the Koch-Rajbanshi people. This is being processed,' he said. Mr. Sarma faulted Mr. Brajabasi and his two advocates for not informing the tribunal that he is a Koch-Rajbanshi. 'The case would have been removed if they had pleaded for withdrawal of the case according to a government office memorandum,' he said. The Koch-Rajbanshis are among several communities, including Bengali Hindus and Muslims, who have migrated from or taken refuge in Assam from Bangladesh. A few days ago, Ms Banerjee expressed 'shock' over the notice issued to Mr Brajabasi. She alleged that the man was being harassed on suspicion of being a 'foreigner/illegal migrant' even after he had furnished valid identity documents. '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. Ms. Banerjee sniffed a premeditated attempt to intimidate, disenfranchise, and target marginalised communities. 'This unconstitutional overreach is anti-people, and exposes the BJP's dangerous agenda of bulldozing democratic safeguards and erasing the identity of Bengal's people,' she said. She further said that this 'alarming' situation called for unity among all Opposition parties to stand up against the BJP's 'divisive and oppressive machinery'.
New Indian Express
5 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
'Should have said he is a Koch-Rajbanshi': Assam CM responds to Mamata over NRC notice being issued to Rajbanshi person
GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma clarified that the instance of a man who had 'temporarily' gone to West Bengal being issued a notice by a foreigners' tribunal was just a 'judicial process'. 'It is a judicial process, but the State government has already recommended that (citizenship) cases against Koch-Rajbanshi people should be withdrawn. The process is on,' Sarma told the media after a cabinet meeting on July 10. He was replying to a query about his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee's statement that 'an NRC notice' was issued to Uttam Kumar Brajabasi, a Rajbanshi and resident of Dinhata in Cooch Behar, West Bengal for 50 years, by the Assam tribunal. Sarma said Brajabasi should have informed the tribunal that he belongs to Koch-Rajbanshi community.
The Hindu
08-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Foreigners Tribunal notice: Mamata calls for joint fight against BJP's ‘divisive' policies
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said she was shocked and disturbed to learn that the Foreigners Tribunal in Assam had issued a notice to a resident of Dinhata in Cooch Behar, declaring him an illegal migrant. Ms. Banerjee claimed that a premeditated attempt is being made to 'intimidate, disenfranchise, and target' marginalised communities. Terming the situation 'alarming', the Trinamool Congress chairperson urged all Opposition parties to unite against what she described as the BJP's 'divisive and oppressive machinery'. 'Bengal will not stand by as the constitutional fabric of India is torn apart,' Ms. Banerjee posted on social media platform X. Ms. Banerjee highlighted the case of Uttam Kumar Brajabasi, a Rajbanshi and resident of Dinhata for over five decades, who has received the notice from Assam, despite never having lived there. She described the notice as 'nothing short of a systematic assault on democracy'. The Chief Minister said the resident was being harassed on suspicion of being a 'foreigner/illegal migrant' despite submitting valid identity documents. She accused the BJP-led government in Assam of trying to 'implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Bengal, where it has no jurisdiction'. The incident comes amid reports of migrant workers from West Bengal, working in various parts of the country, being covertly pushed into Bangladesh with the involvement of security agencies. More than half a dozen such workers have been brought back after intervention by the West Bengal government. Ms. Banerjee also raised concerns over the revision of electoral rolls in neighbouring Bihar, accusing the Election Commission of attempting to implement the NRC 'through the back door'. Mr. Brajabasi told journalists that neither he nor his forefathers had ever visited Assam. He has also approached the local Block Development Office with all his citizenship documents. 'False narrative' BJP West Bengal general secretary Jagannath Chattopadhyay claimed a 'false narrative' was being spread by Ms. Banerjee regarding a notice allegedly issued by a court in Assam. He said that the Assam Chief Minister had already decided to exclude the Koch-Rajbanshi community from the NRC process and that the State Cabinet had resolved to withdraw all pending NRC-related cases against them. 'DGPAssamPolice, take strong action against those who are igniting social disharmony in West Bengal,' he posted on X.
