Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday launched a blistering attack on the BJP-led Assam government after a Foreigners’ Tribunal in the neighbouring state issued a notice to a farmer from Cooch Behar, alleging him to be an illegal migrant. Terming the move a “systematic assault on democracy,” Banerjee alleged that the BJP was attempting to illegally implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in West Bengal, a state where it holds no jurisdiction. She further described the incident as a dangerous overreach and a targeted attack on marginalised communities.
“I am shocked and deeply disturbed to learn that the Foreigners Tribunal in Assam has issued an NRC notice to Uttam Kumar Brajabasi, a Rajbanshi and resident of Dinhata in Cooch Behar for over 50 years. Despite furnishing valid identity documents, he is being harassed on suspicion of being a ‘foreigner/illegal migrant’,” Banerjee posted on social media platform X. She further alleged that the BJP dispensation in Assam was trying to use the NRC process as a tool to intimidate, disenfranchise, and erase the identity of people in Bengal, particularly those from marginalised communities. “This unconstitutional overreach is anti-people, and exposes the BJP’s dangerous agenda of bulldozing democratic safeguards,” she asserted. Calling for political unity, Banerjee urged all Opposition parties to unite against what she described as the “divisive and oppressive machinery” of the BJP. “Bengal will not stand by as the constitutional fabric of India is torn apart,” she affirmed.
The controversy ignited after the farmer, Uttam Kumar Brajabasi, told reporters that he was stunned to receive a notice declaring him a suspected illegal migrant, despite having never stepped outside Cooch Behar. According to him, he has lived in the area for over five decades and possesses valid Indian identity documents. In response, the state BJP squarely blamed the TMC government, alleging irregularities in documentation. The BJP claimed that numerous illegal immigrants from Bangladesh had obtained forged Indian identity papers in Bengal and were being incorrectly passed off as citizens. This incident has reignited a fresh political flashpoint between the BJP and TMC, bringing the contentious issue of NRC back to the forefront ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
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