TMC alleges harassment of Matua family in Pune

Kolkata, Jul 15 (PTI) The TMC on Tuesday alleged that members of a Bengali-speaking Matua family from West Bengal were harassed and detained by police in BJP-ruled Maharashtra on suspicion of being "Bangladeshi nationals".

The party claimed that the family faced troubles despite possessing valid Indian identity documents, including a card signed by Union Minister and Matua leader Santanu Thakur.

The matter was raised by TMC Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam, who also serves as the chairman of the West Bengal Migrant Workers' Welfare Board.

Taking to social media, he accused the Maharashtra government of targeting Bengali-speaking migrant workers in the garb of illegal immigration and compared the treatment of Matuas to being branded as Rohingyas.

"Now, members of our beloved Matua community have been facing harassment by the anti-Bengali BJP government in Maharashtra. Hatred in politics spares no one. BJP leaders are trying to malign Bengali-speaking migrant workers by branding them as Rohingyas," Islam alleged on X.

"Recently, our office at the West Bengal Migrant Workers' Welfare Board received information about police harassment of at least six members of the Matua community from North 24 Parganas, currently residing in Pune, Maharashtra.

"We have already reached out to the affected family, who confirmed that the police in BJP-ruled Maharashtra have detained Arush Adhikary and at least five others including minors, on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals," the TMC MP claimed.

Islam said that the family in question "possesses Aadhaar and voter ID cards, and identity cards issued by the All India Matua Mahasangha (AIMM) with the signature of Santanu Thakur, who himself is the Union Minister of State for Shipping and a prominent Matua leader".

"Are these Matua brothers and sisters Rohingyas? BJP's toxic politics are targeting everyone; it is clearly anti-Bengali. Our Chief Minister, @MamataOfficial, will lead a protest march tomorrow. We will ensure the safe return of our harassed Matua brothers and sisters," the TMC MP said.

TMC MP and Matua leader Mamata Bala Thakur also condemned the incident, alleging that the Pune police labelled the family "Bangladeshi" as they speak Bengali.

"Despite holding a Matua Mahasangha ID card with Union Minister Santanu Thakur's signature, the family faced police harassment. This exposes the BJP's duplicity and its political exploitation of the Matua community," she claimed.

Santanu Thakur is Sanghadhipati (chief), All India Matua Mahasangha.

Reacting sharply, Mahitosh Baidya, general secretary of All India Matua Mahasangha, hit back at the TMC, accusing the West Bengal government of not implementing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, and instead targeting Matuas who are "known to support the BJP".

"Yes, we have received this information that a Matua family was detained by the Maharashtra Police. People who came to India from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan due to religious persecution are eligible for Indian citizenship under the CAA. Matuas are covered under this Act. Possessing an identity card of Matua Mahasangha doesn't mean he or she is a valid citizen," Baidya said.

He said it is a norm that identity cards of Matuas bear the signature of All India Matua Mahasangha, who now happens to be Thakur.

The Matua community - Hindu refugees from Bangladesh- form a significant portion of West Bengal's Scheduled Caste population.

Since the 1990s, political parties have courted the support of the Matuas, whose substantial population and tendency to vote cohesively render them a valuable voting bloc.

Baidya alleged that the names of Matua voters were being selectively deleted from electoral rolls in various parts of North 24 Parganas, including Bongaon, Bagdah, and Gaighata, using the police and administrative machinery.

"This is a conspiracy by the TMC to reduce the BJP's vote share in Matua-majority areas. But in the name of the detention of migrants, the way Bengali-speaking people are harassed, we condemn it. Everyone has the right to live and work with dignity. Someone speaking in Bengali doesn't make him or her an infiltrator," he said.

In recent weeks, multiple incidents have emerged where Bengali-speaking migrant workers from West Bengal have allegedly been detained in BJP-ruled states like Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Maharashtra on suspicion of being illegal immigrants, sparking a major political flashpoint between the TMC and BJP ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections in West Bengal.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier condemned these detentions, alleging that Bengali identity and migrant labourers' rights were being trampled upon by the BJP governments in several states. PTI PNT BDC