TMC leader accuses BJP of misleading people on citizenship
The Statesman | 20 September 2025Addressing a civic outreach programme in Bongaon, Seth said those who entered India between 2014 and 2024 and applied for citizenship under CAA would not be recognised as Indian citizens. Instead, he warned, their names would be struck off the electoral rolls and they could face detention or imprisonment and BJP leaders are misguiding them. “Those who came after 2014 and applied will lose their place in the voter list. They will either be sent to detention camps or to jail. In that case, not even the President of India can help them,” Seth said, while distributing food and relief materials to nearly 700 flood-affected residents in Ward 22.
Seth, who has considerable influence among the Matua community in Bongaon, argued that only those who migrated between 2002 and 2014 are eligible for Indian citizenship as per the ministry of home affairs. “Why should Hindus be divided in this way? If necessary, we will take to the streets to protect them, but once people apply under CAA, we cannot save them,” he said.
The Matua community, originally from Bangladesh, forms a significant vote bank in the region. The TMC and BJP have been locked in a fierce battle to win their support, with CAA often becoming the flashpoint. BJP leaders quickly dismissed Seth’s remarks as misleading. Subrata Thakur, BJP legislator from Gaighata and a prominent Matua face, accused the TMC leader of spreading misinformation. “Gopal Seth is misinterpreting the CAA without understanding it. The Act clearly states that people from six persecuted minority communities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who came to India before 31 December, 2014, will be granted citizenship,” Thakur said.
He added that the ministry of home affairs had clarified that those who arrived between 2014 and 2024 will not face harassment under the Foreigners Act. “They cannot be arrested under the law. Seth is only trying to confuse people,” Thakur said.
Earlier, Seth had courted controversy when he advised Matua families against applying for citizenship under CAA, prompting BJP leaders, including former state president Sukanta Majumdar, to demand his arrest.
With West Bengal heading into another election season, the clash over CAA is expected to deepen the political polarisation in the Matua stronghold of Bongaon.
