Ensure illegal Bangladeshi immigrants supporting TMC are placed in voters’ list: TMC MLA
New Delhi, Nov 17: A controversy has erupted after a Trinamool Congress MLA was heard urging party workers to make sure that only those Bangladeshi immigrants who support the TMC in West Bengal shall be placed on the voters' list.
This comes at a time when West Bengal is revising the draft electoral roll.
In the purported video doing the rounds of the social media, TMC leader, Bardhaman Dakshin MLA, Khokan Das is heard saying, ' many new people are coming and they are all from Bangladesh. Many vote for BJP due to Hindu sentiments. Ensure that only those who support our party should be placed in the voters's list, he is also heard saying.
The comments were made on November 15 when the TMC MLA was addressing a public gathering in Bardhaman.
'Shameful': BJP slams Mamata for TMC leader's comments on President Murmu
When he was asked about his questions, he told the media that illegal Bangladeshi immigrants are coming to our area everyday. My message was to ensure that their names should not be in the voters' list.
While reacting to the comments, BJP leader, Soumyaraj Mukhopadhay said that the MLA should inform both the central and state governments about the influx of Bangladeshi immigrants instead of doing party politics. This is why we will implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, he said.
What is the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA):
The CAA was passed by Parliament and is aimed at granting citizenship to the persecuted Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Zoroastrians and Christians from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
The Act reduces the the minimum term required to stay in India before applying for citizenship by naturalisation to five years instead of 11 years.