Cooch Behar, August 07 (Siliguri Chronicle) – The Trinamool Congress leadership in Cooch Behar on Wednesday took a defiant stand, backing an elected party representative who refused to respond to a notice from Assam’s foreigners’ tribunal.
The tribunal, operating under the BJP-led Assam government, had summoned the TMC leader to appear with documents to prove the citizenship of a homemaker. However, party leaders made it clear she would not comply—echoing the stance of Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, who has consistently opposed the process.
In recent months, several residents of Cooch Behar—close to the Assam border—have received similar notices, sparking political tension and concern over citizenship verification in the region.
But the case of Binama Barman, pradhan of the Trinamool-led Hajrahat-II panchayat in Mathabhanga subdivision, stands out. She has been asked to appear before the tribunal in Nalbari, Assam, with old panchayat records to verify documents submitted by a homemaker who lived in the panchayat’s area before marrying and moving to Assam four decades ago.
On Wednesday, district Trinamool president Abhijit De Bhowmik visited Binama’s residence.
“Binama Barman will not go to Assam. She is an elected representative of Bengal, and the Assam government has no authority to call her,” said Bhowmik.
“Earlier, the BJP government of Assam was issuing notices to residents of Cooch Behar to intimidate them. Now, they are trying to intimidate elected representatives of our party. This is unacceptable. We will not let the BJP harass these people,” he added.
Minati Roy, the homemaker in question, hails from Dakshin Bhangamore in Hajrahat-II. She married and moved to Assam nearly 40 years ago. In 2015, after receiving a notice related to the NRC, she collected certificates from the panchayat to support her claim of Indian citizenship.
“The tribunal called the pradhan to appear as a witness to confirm that the documents submitted by Minati Roy, which were issued by the panchayat, are original ones,” said a source.
On Wednesday, Trinamool leaders also visited Minati Roy’s village and met her relatives, including her son Ramapada. “We submitted all the documents to prove my mother’s Indian citizenship. Yet, the process seems nowhere near an end,” he said.
Binama said: “I won’t go to Assam to appear before the tribunal. It is my decision as well as my party’s.”
Mamata has been vocal against such notices served to residents of Cooch Behar and Alipurduar districts. “The Assam government should mind its own business. It has no right to question the citizenship of people in Bengal,” she had said.
