Check voter rolls to avoid detention under NRC: Mamata Banerjee
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday told people of the state to ensure their names are on the electoral rolls to avoid being sent to detention camps under the garb of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Her statement came as she distributed as many as 4,701 land pattas (documents) to marginalized people from all districts at an event in Kolkata, reported PTI.
Why does this story matter?
The NRC is supposed to be a register listing all "genuine" Indian citizens and aims to distinguish foreign nationals. Prepared for the first time after the 1951 Census, the process of updating it began following a Supreme Court order in 2013. Earlier, people were sent to detention centers on suspicion of being Bangladeshi immigrants but were proclaimed Indian after spending years in the camp.
Banerjee said there's no place for discrimination in West Bengal
Advise everybody to visit camps for electoral roll revision: CM
At the event, Banerjee said, "The process of revision in the electoral rolls is currently on...this process will continue till December 5, 2022," per India TV. "Check whether your names are in the electoral rolls. Also, check whether the spellings of the names are correct. If not, get them rectified. Otherwise, you might be sent to the detention camps under the garb of NRC."
Protest if evicted, state government is with you: Banerjee
Moreover, referring to the "forcible takeover" of land by the railways, Banerjee proclaimed poor people can't be evicted in West Bengal. She said she heard people were evicted without any compensation on the pretext of constructing a flyover earlier. Banerjee added she won't allow anyone to evict refugees and encouraged people to launch protests in such cases and assured them of her government's support.
'Central government running on party instructions'
Taking potshots at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), she said the central government was "running on a party's instructions." She accused the central government of not releasing funds for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The CM further said the Centre wasn't providing fertilizers to farmers, adding the state government will have to think of manufacturing fertilizers if the non-cooperation continues.
