Matua matriarch Binapani Devi pens letter to Mamata Banerjee, TMC calls it fake
The letter was addressed to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, reminding her of the promise she had made to the community.
The fight for the influential Matua vote bank has intensified in West Bengal after a letter, purportedly written by the 102-year-old matriarch of the community, Binapani Devi, surfaced amidst the political tussle over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.
The letter was addressed to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, reminding her of the promise she had made to the community.
"Let me remind you that citizenship and rehabilitation of the refugees have long been a standing demand of the Matua community. You had promised me that you would look after the interest of the Matuas. Citizenship has been our long pending demand. Now that there is an opportunity, I request you to instruct your party [Trinamool Congress] to support the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in the Rajya Sabha or else the Matua community will not support you anymore," the letter said.
Speaking to India Today TV, Shantanu Thakur, head of All India Matua Mahasangha, said, "The letter has been sent by Boroma [Binapani Devi]. Mamata Banerjee had earlier promised us that she would look after our interest but I think she has betrayed the Matua community. She wants the Matuas to be pushed back to Bangladesh. This is extremely painful for our community and that's why Boroma wrote to her."
Shantanu now leads the pro-BJP faction of the Matua Mahasangha and was instrumental in hosting PM Modi at the community headquarter earlier this month.
However, Trinamool Congress MP and wife of Boroma's elder son Kapil Krishna, Mamata Bala Thakur, accused Shantanu Thakur of forging Boroma's signature in the letter.
"I don't think it is her signature. Boroma can't write such a letter. She is a 100-year-old woman, and I don't think she can sign such a letter," claimed the MP from Bongaon. Mamata Bala Thakur also said that while the Matuas have been demanding passage of the Citizenship Bill, they did not support the Bill in its current form.
"It has been our fight to get citizenship for the Matuas. But the Bill in its current form will not be of much help. What happened in Assam may happen here as well," she said.
Besides accusing Shantanu Thakur of forging Binapani Devi's signature in the letter and terming the letter as a conspiracy, the TMC MP also filed a police complaint against the other faction with the local Gaighata police station.
In her complaint, Mamata Thakur demanded an inquiry into the whole matter, saying the said letter was being used to fool the people. Reacting to the development, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien directly accused the BJP of fabricating the letter.
"Shameless BJP. #FakeNews. Fake letter. Fake letterhead. Fake fake. BJP now desperate in #Bengal. Read this. Exposed," O'Brien tweeted.
As per the 2011 census, Scheduled Castes (SCs) constitute 23 per cent of the state's total population of 8 crore. The Namasudras (lower caste Hindus like the Matuas) form the second most influential scheduled caste community in the state and therefore, are electorally significant.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has enjoyed much political support from the Matuas in bordering districts like North 24 Pargana and Nadia.