Kolkata, 20 December (H.S.): The Trinamool Congress on Saturday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address at the Taherpur rally failed to reflect any concern over the citizenship-related anxieties of the Matua community, which has been affected by the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal.

TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said the Prime Minister did not make a single reference to the issues faced by the Matua community in his speech. He claimed the address lacked both vision and responsibility. Ghosh also alleged that Modi remained silent on the alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking people in BJP-ruled states.

The Matua community comprises Dalit Hindu refugees who migrated to West Bengal from Bangladesh over several decades due to religious persecution. The first statewide Special Intensive Revision since 2002 has triggered deep concerns among the community over identity and citizenship.

According to official data, 5,820,898 names have been excluded from the draft electoral rolls across West Bengal, reducing the state’s electorate from 7.66 crore to 7.08 crore. Election Commission figures show that around 1.36 crore entries have been flagged for logical discrepancies, while nearly 30 lakh voters have been categorised as unmapped. In total, about 1.66 crore voters may be called for hearings. Matua leaders across party lines have claimed that a significant share of these affected voters belong to their community.

Ghosh further alleged that the Prime Minister did not address incidents in which Indian citizens were allegedly pushed into Bangladesh by police in BJP-ruled states. He referred to the case of migrant woman Sunali Khatun, who was sent to Bangladesh in June and returned to India on December 6 following judicial intervention.

The TMC leader also accused the Centre of withholding funds meant for welfare schemes for the poor in West Bengal. He questioned why thousands of crores under the 100-day rural employment scheme had been stopped, and alleged that funds for rural housing and drinking water projects were also blocked, forcing the state government to run these schemes using its own resources.

Referring to the Taherpur rally, Ghosh alleged mismanagement and claimed that some BJP workers died in a train accident while travelling to attend the programme. He said the loss of lives could have been avoided with proper arrangements. Railway authorities confirmed that three people died and three others were injured after being hit by a train amid dense fog.

TMC spokesperson Arup Chakraborty claimed that posters carrying slogans such as “Narendra Modi go back” were displayed in the area, reflecting anger among the Matua community against the Prime Minister and the BJP.

In his address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly criticised the Trinamool Congress, describing the situation in West Bengal as “maha jungle raj”. He alleged that corruption, nepotism and appeasement politics had stalled development in the state. Addressing the gathering over the phone from Kolkata, Modi urged voters to give the BJP a chance in the 2026 Assembly elections to form a “double-engine government” in West Bengal.

Meanwhile, CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty claimed that the Matua community was dissatisfied with both the BJP and the Trinamool Congress, alleging that the community had been treated merely as a vote bank and misled on the citizenship issue.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh