Adhikari promises CAA citizenship for 2.5 lakh applicants by December 31 at Matua convention

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Sunday that his government would speed up hearings and grant citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) to about 2.5 lakh applicants in West Bengal by December 31. He was speaking at the International Matua Gosai Convention at Thakurnagar in North 24 Parganas, his first visit to the Matua community's headquarters, Thakurbari, as chief minister.

"Only 25,000 people have received citizenship under CAA in West Bengal so far," Mr Adhikari said, according to a PTI report. "We will expedite the hearing and provide citizenship to 2.5 lakh petitioners by December 31."

What he announced

Mr Adhikari said all genuine Scheduled Caste applicants who receive citizenship under the CAA would also be given SC certificates, PTI reported. He announced Rs 50 crore for the community's development.

He also blamed his predecessor for the slow pace. "The CMs of all other states have implemented CAA, and those eligible got their citizenship... Only Mamata Banerjee opposed it," he said. Speaking to reporters at Thakurnagar, he said the previous chief minister had "divided the Matuas" and done nothing for them, adding: "This government in West Bengal could be formed because of support from the Matua community."

The figures of 25,000 citizenships granted and 2.5 lakh pending applications are the chief minister's own. The Declaration has not seen official data on CAA applications from Bengal to confirm them. Applications under the CAA are processed by committees set up by the Union government, so the state's role is largely in verification and in organising hearings.

Union Minister of State Shantanu Thakur, the BJP MP for Bangaon and a leader of the Matua Mahasangha, had said before the event that Mr Adhikari would offer prayers at the Thakurbari temple, join the conference and then meet representatives of the Mahasangha, IANS reported.

No response from the Trinamool Congress had been reported by the time of writing.

Why it matters

The Matuas are a largely Namasudra community whose families came from present-day Bangladesh, many of them after Partition and the 1971 war. The religious movement grew in the late 19th century under Harichand Thakur. Many Matuas have struggled for years to prove their citizenship, and the community has been a central constituency in Bengal politics, especially in the border districts of North 24 Parganas and Nadia. Since the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the BJP has drawn strong support among Matua voters, IANS noted.

The CAA, passed in 2019, offers a faster route to Indian citizenship for Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who entered India before December 31, 2014. Its rules were notified in March 2024. Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool government opposed the law and warned people against applying. The BJP won the Assembly election in May.

The timing also links to the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls in Bengal, under which many voters have been asked to prove their eligibility. Mr Adhikari did not refer to the SIR in the remarks reported by PTI.

What happens next

Clearing about 2.25 lakh more applications in two months would need a large increase in the pace of hearings. The chief minister did not say how many hearing centres or officials would be added. The Declaration will follow the numbers as they are published.