Amid mounting controversy over the alleged introduction of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in West Bengal through the backdoor by the ruling Trinamul Congress, a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking the implementation of NRC in the state was filed in the Calcutta High Court today.
A hearing is expected to take place next week.
The PIL was submitted before the division Bench of Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Smita Das De, who granted permission for the filing of the petition.
The Bench also directed the state to inform the court whether any similar petition had previously been filed on the issue.
This move gains significance at a time when the Trinamul Congress is fiercely opposing what it calls the Centre’s covert attempts to introduce NRC in the state. The party has vowed to resist any such move, describing it as an effort to enforce NRC through the back door.
Chief minister Banerjee has repeatedly made her government’s position clear, declaring that West Bengal will not tolerate any attempt by the Centre to implement NRC through indirect means, and that her administration would actively resist what she called a “sinister design.”
Her stance became even more pronounced following the case of Uttam Kumar Brojabasi, a 50-year-old resident of Cooch Behar, who allegedly received an NRC notice from Assam’s Foreigners Tribunal.
Abhishek Banerjee, the Trinamul Congress’s national general secretary and Member of Parliament, also criticised the development, stating in a social media post that the Centre is attempting to impose NRC on Bengal through the backdoor.