Scheduled Caste religious group with origins in Bangladesh is grappling with identity politics
On April 14, B.R. Ambedkar’s birth anniversary, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president J.P. Nadda held a road show in Bongaon town. The BJP, for which religious and sub-religious identities have emerged as the most crucial tool of the 2021 campaign in the West Bengal Assembly polls, the date and the place were well chosen.
Since the past two years, Bongaon, a sub-division in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district bordering Bangladesh, is witnessing a new identity politics around the Matua sect, a Scheduled Caste religious group with origins in Bangladesh.
Explained: Why Matuas and CAA matter in West Bengal polls
The Matua community in West Bengal are
upset about the cancellation of a rally Union Home Minister Amit Shahwas scheduled to address on Saturday. The two-day visit to Bengal was called off in view of Friday’s blast outside the Israel Embassy in Delhi. The BJP has not dismantled the stage put up for Shah, and senior leaders said they will intimate the community within 48 hours about a new date for a visit by Shah, who, the community hopes, will make an announcement about implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
»‘Shah Must Clarify Stand on CAA, Says Bengal BJP MP as He Eyes Matua Votes Ahead of Polls
2-MIN READ
‘Shah Must Clarify Stand on CAA, Says Bengal BJP MP as He Eyes Matua Votes Ahead of Polls
Union Home MInister Amit Shah arrived in Kolkata in the wee hours of Saturday for his Bengal rally.
Thakur, who won the Bongaon seat while riding the wave of ‘BJP’s citizenship promise’ to the Matua community, is now in an odd situation over the delay in the implementation of CAA in Bengal.
FOLLOW US ON:
Kolkata: Shantanu Thakur, BJP MP from Bengal’s Bongaon, has asked Union Home Minister Amit Shah to clarify Centre’s stand on the implementation of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the state.