IANS photo.
Kolkata: Members of the All India Matua Mahasangha on Monday staged a demonstration outside the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Kolkata, demanding that their names not be excluded from the electoral rolls during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, PTI reported.
A five-member delegation of the community met the CEO and submitted a list of demands, urging the authorities to recognise Aadhaar and EPIC cards, among other citizenship proofs, and ensure that no bona fide voter is omitted during the exercise.
A spokesperson of the Mahasangha said, "We are not against SIR. We also want that all unauthorised citizens, who procured cards through fraudulent means, be detected and flushed out irrespective of religion. But we can see that is not happening in real sense."
"Instead, members of the Matua community, who had voted in several past elections and have been living in the country for decades after getting all necessary documents after due verification, are being targetted in the name of SIR. Not only bacckward caste Hindu Matuas, members of Rajbangshi, tribal and indigenous communities are facing similar threat and the EC and BJP government at the Centre appear unresponsive," he said.
He said the Matua Mahasangha, an apolitical forum consisting of members of all political parties and also ordinary citizens, urged all parties to come to their support.
"We have only been seen as a votebank by different political parties, ruling at the state and Centre, but are being ignored at this critical moment. If our concerns are not addressed, we will intensify protests in various forms in the coming days," the spokesperson said.
Senior Congress leader Adhir Chowdhury, who led the rally from Sealdah station to the CEO's office in BBD Bag area, pledged support to the Matua Mahasangha.
"There is a conspiracy to delete names of most Matua community members from the voter list. Both BJP and TMC are playing with their future. When members of Matua Mahasangha sat for an indefinite fast in the first week of November, neither party came to their aid. The Congress despite not getting any votes from Matuas will not let it happen. We will do everything so that not a single Matua's name is deleted," he said.
TMC MP and Matua leader Mamatabala Thakur was not present at the rally, but pledged her support to the apolitical demonstration.
BJP MP Santanu Thakur earlier claimed that no genuine Matua's name will be deleted in the SIR and accused a section of Mahasangh of doing politics and creating panic among the community by raising the bogey of non-inclusion.
"Most of the Matuas have seen through this game and are not unduly scared by SIR as they have all valid documents. The SIR is being conducted smoothly everywhere and the BJP is extending every support to the members of the community," he claimed.