A 75-year-old resident of Mathabhanga II block in Cooch Behar, Nishikanta Das, has sought the intervention of chief minister Mamata Banerjee after receiving a notice from the Foreigners Tribunal in Kamrup, Assam, in connection with the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Having failed to furnish the required documents to prove his citizenship, Mr Das approached local Trinamul Congress (TMC) leaders for help. On Friday, Cooch Behar district TMC president Abhijit De Bhowmik and other leaders visited his residence and assured him that the chief minister would look into the matter and that he had “nothing to worry about.”
Mr Bhowmik alleged that such notices were part of a deliberate attempt by the Assam government to harass Bengali-speaking people in border areas like Cooch Behar, particularly those belonging to the Rajbanshi and Namo Sudra communities. He announced plans to launch a protest movement against what he termed a “politically motivated” NRC process.
According to Mr Bhowmik, at least three residents of Cooch Behar have recently received NRC-related notices from Assam.
Mr Das said he had received the notice about a month and a half ago and immediately travelled to Guwahati to consult a lawyer, carrying documents including land records dating back to 1958. However, he was asked to submit voter list records showing his father’s name — a document he could not locate, as his father had died over four decades ago.
Mr Das, who had gone to Assam 27 years ago in search of work, recalled being detained by Assam Police on suspicion of being a Bangladeshi national. He was released after establishing that he was a permanent resident of West Bengal.
“I am not worried anymore because chief minister Mamata Banerjee will take care of this,” he said.
Mr Bhowmik further claimed that such notices were being issued to spread panic and drive people towards the BJP ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
The Trinamul Congress in its social media post mentioned the incident. It wrote: “Nishikanta Das from Mathabhanga, a bonafide resident of Bengal, has been unjustly served an NRC notice by the Assam Government.
“This is an act of POLITICAL TERRORISM. The Assam Government has no jurisdiction in Bengal. Yet, they’re issuing NRC notices to Bengali citizens, blatantly undermining our federal structure. This @BJP4India’s backdoor NRC. Having failed to win Bengal politically, they now want to render Bengalis STATELESS in their own homeland.
“So long as Smt. @MamataOfficial leads Bengal, we will not allow even a single citizen to be robbed of their rights, dignity, or existence. BJP, you’ve opened a dangerous front. Now prepare for a long, bitter, and unforgiving fight.”