Alipurduar, July 26 (Siliguri Chronicle) – Anjali Seal, a homemaker from Falakata block in Alipurduar district, received a notice from a foreigners’ tribunal in Assam on Friday, just three days after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee raised the issue.
“The foreigner’s tribunal of Assam has served a notice on her and instructed her to prove that she is an Indian citizen. The Assam government is crossing the lines, and I would say that they should mind their own business. We will not let them interfere in our state,” Mamata had said on July 22, while bashing the BJP and its governments at the Centre and in different states.
The chief minister was referring to alleged atrocities against Bengali-speaking migrant workers in BJP-ruled states, where they are being detained for days on suspicion of being Bangladeshis. On Friday morning, the inspector-in-charge of Falakata police station went to Mymensinghpara in Jateswar, where Anjali lives with her family, and handed the notice to her.
The notice was issued by a member of the foreigners’ tribunal in Kokrajhar, alleging that Anjali had entered Assam without valid documents. She has been asked to appear before the tribunal and submit proof of her citizenship.
Sources said the notice first reached the Cooch Behar district administration. It was then forwarded to neighbouring Alipurduar district, where it was finally delivered to Anjali on Friday.
“That is why there was a delay in delivering the notice to the addressee,” said a source.
Anjali and her husband Nitya, who runs a barber shop, have two children. After she received the notice, curious villagers gathered outside their house.
“My wife has been under pressure ever since she heard about the notice. It is surprising that even before she received the notice, it went public. These days, we have to face several questions from people, and whoever comes to my shop is making queries. We don’t know what will happen,” said the anxious husband.
Anjali reaffirmed that she has all the necessary documents to prove her citizenship.
“Political leaders are paying visits to my home, but let me make it clear that I don’t need any pity. I have the relevant documents and I am ready to furnish those with the appropriate authorities,” said the homemaker.
District Trinamool Congress leaders said they stand with the family.
“The notice proves that our chief minister was correct. The Assam government cannot banish anybody from Bengal on the pretext of the NRC, and we will politically resist any such attempt,” said Suman Kanjilal, the Alipurduar MLA.
The BJP leadership, on the other hand, said Trinamool was politicising the issue. “Anjali Seal is an Indian, and she has the necessary proofs. We do not think that she will face any problems. Tinamool is flagging the issue for political reasons and to create a rift among people,” said Deepak Barman, the BJP MLA of Falakata.
Trinamool’s protest
The Cooch Behar district Trinamool leadership has announced a sit-in demonstration near the Bengal-Assam border on July 27, coinciding with the party’s statewide protests against the alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking migrant workers in BJP-ruled states.
Abhijit De Bhowmik, the Trinamool president of Cooch Behar district, said that Uttam Kumar Brajabasi, a resident of Dinhata who had received a similar notice like Anjali, would join the protest.
“On Sunday, we will stage the demonstration near the Assam gate at Boxirhat. We want to send a clear message to the Assam government and the BJP leadership that Trinamool will not sit idle if residents of our state are being harassed by them,” said Bhowmik.
