KOLKATA: People have been queuing up to fetch for documents of proof of their citizenship at government offices as the panic over the National Register of Citizens (NRC) seems to be hovering across West Bengal. BJP and Mamata Banerjee are crossing swords over the NRC exercise even before it has been introduced in West Bengal. Some reports attribute over six suicides to NRC-related fear in north Bengal over the previous week.
The panic has now reached Kolkata. At the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) headquarters, large crowds have been gathering each day over the past one week seeking birth and death certificates. KMC officials say there has been a sudden spike in the number of people who visit the centre for certificates, especially from the Muslim community. While police and private security guards struggle to keep the crowd in order, anxiety was palpable on the faces of those waiting at the KMC office.
While some officials at the Kolkata Municipal Corporation said that the size of the crowds was normal, others claimed otherwise. "There is no reason for such big crowds in the office, given that this is not the season for school admissions. In my entire career, I have not seen such huge crowds applying for birth certificates at the same time... People are talking about NRC. It is overwhelming, and we are working non-stop," said Swapan Ghosh, who was sitting behind a counter issuing birth certificates.
Munshi Musaraff Hossain and his wife Reshma Begum travelled 200 km from Salar in Murshidabad district to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to secure birth certificates for their two college-going children. "We have come for birth certificates for our children out of fear of NRC. I fear that they will chase us out of the country if an NRC were to happen," said Reshma Begum. Her husband, Hossain, was just as perturbed. "The politicians are playing games with us. Mamata Banerjee is saying no NRC but if the Supreme Court orders it, we will have to show papers. So we must have everything ready," he said. There were many others in the same boat.
The verbal duels between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP on the issue have been relentless, and Amit Shah is set to join the debate at a public meeting in the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata. "Some people are fearmongering, saying you will need to have a 1971 certificate to figure on the NRC list. There will be no NRC. Don't worry about any NRC," Chief Minister Mamata had said at a meeting in West Midnapore district. But less than 24 hours later, BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya said: "Hundred per cent there will be NRC in Bengal. Once the BJP comes to power here, infiltrators will not be allowed to remain in the country. But yes, Hindus will stay. The Citizenship Amendment Bill is coming soon."
Union Minister Babul Supriyo also echoed the same saying the National Register of Citizens (NRC) must be prepared in West Bengal to drive out outsiders, who are infringing on the rights of Indian citizens. "The West Bengal government is misleading the people and creating confusion with regard to the Citizenship Amendment Bill and the NRC," he said.
The list is aimed at segregating Indian citizens living in Assam from those who had illegally entered the state from Bangladesh.
