Kolkata, 26 July (H.S.) -

A 45-day-old NRC notice issued to a 75-year-old Bengali man from Mathabhanga in Cooch Behar district has turned into a fresh political flashpoint in West Bengal. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using the National Register of Citizens (NRC) as a tool to intimidate Bengali-speaking citizens and reignite fears surrounding identity and citizenship.

The notice was served to Nishikanta Das, who said he had traveled to Guwahati with his land documents following the notification. However, he was told the paperwork was insufficient and was subsequently asked to produce voter records of his father—who passed away over 45 years ago. “How can I produce my father's voter list when he died decades ago? We have been living here for generations,” Das said. He also recalled being detained in Guwahati many years ago under suspicion of being a Bangladeshi, but was released after producing proof of his Indian citizenship.

The TMC has seized the issue to launch a sharp political attack on the BJP. Cooch Behar district TMC president Abhijit De Bhowmik alleged that Bengalis are being deliberately targeted and harassed in other states. “This is part of a larger agenda to intimidate Bengali-speaking people and force them into submission. BJP will ultimately fall because of its NRC agenda,” he said.

While the BJP has not issued any formal response, political observers see this as a calculated move by the TMC to reignite the “outsider versus Bengali” narrative ahead of upcoming elections. They believe the party is leveraging old NRC notices to build momentum around the identity issue, a strategy it has employed effectively in the past.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has remained vocal on the matter, consistently defending the rights and identity of Bengalis. She has announced a “Language Movement” and is set to lead a rally in Bolpur on July 28 to reaffirm her stance on the issue.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh