March 11 marked a significant day for the people of Thakurnagar, the heartland of the Matua community, and its leader, Shantanu Thakur, who is an MP from Bongaon and the Shipping Minister in the Narendra Modi Cabinet. Thakur is also the grandson of Pramatha Ranjan Thakur, who spearheaded the battle to ensure citizenship for the Matua community. During his election campaign trail, Thakur spoke to Organiser Special Correspondent Nishant Kumar Azad about his family’s prolonged struggle for citizenship and lauded the Modi Government’s decision to enact CAA, labelling it a ‘landmark act’. Excerpts from the interview:
What is your take on the implementation of the CAA, especially considering Mamata Banerjee’s statement that the CAA will lead to the deprivation of human rights and her firm stance against its implementation?
Mamata does not know anything about the Act. I take a completely opposite view on the implementation of CAA. It is an act of democratic levelling and insurance of equality. Union Governments before Prime Minister Narendra Modi kept changing citizenship laws and creating an environment of great insecurity for our refugee brethren. They were asked to submit documents on land possession. Tell me, how could a refugee show such documents? Those laws manufactured deep inequality by creating lots of artificial classifications such as ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘C’ categories. CAA is a welcome step, and everyone is welcome to do the same.
As a Matua leader, how has your community responded to this decision?
Ever since the implementation of CAA, there has been a great deal of motivation and enthusiasm in the community. The Matua community is celebrating the landmark act. They have experienced ‘Modi ki Guarantee’ like never before. It was PM Modi who raised the issue of Matuas internationally, including in Bangladesh. We will have more and more outreach programmes in the successive months, and the nation will see the response clearly.
Matuas are a deciding factor in many Lok Sabha seats in North & South Parganas and Nadia District of West Bengal. Do you think you will get an edge now that the CAA has been notified ahead of the elections?
The electoral benefits will resound in the total 42 seats of the State, not just a few constituencies. If you want to focus only on Matuas, I can foresee promising results on at least 15 seats.
Your party man and Matua Mahasangh leader, Mukul Mani Adhikari, has joined TMC. Don’t you think he will make a dent in the Matua vote bank?
Nothing will change with one leader’s departure. He has fought the battle for CAA with us, and now he has drifted to the other side for his own reasons. But Matua community is mobilised by Thakurbari, and one Mukul Mani Adhikari cannot dent the community. In fact, his move to TMC is now being seen as a betrayal of the community.
How many seats BJP is expecting to win from Bengal in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls?
My assessment is that BJP will win 20-25 seats.
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