BJP minister shows CAA route for welfare benefits to Bengal Hindus deleted during SIR
Telegraph | 18 May 2026
Hindus deleted from Bengal’s electoral rolls by the SIR can continue to receive government welfare and other benefits if they apply for citizenship under the amended citizenship law, a minister in the state’s new BJP government indicated on Saturday.
While food & supplies and cooperation minister Ashok Kirtania did not name any community, Muslims are excluded from the ambit of the 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and the minister was appealing particularly to the Matuas, who are Hindu refugees from Bangladesh.
His comments came amid growing anxiety among the SIR-deleted about not only the stoppage of welfare but also the withdrawal of citizenship rights.
Minister Agnimitra Paul had last week announced that all those excluded by the SIR, including those whose appeals were pending before the tribunals — would be deemed non-citizens and stop receiving welfare. Within a day, though, the government clarified that those who had appealed to the tribunals (about 27 lakh people) would be spared.
Kirtania’s statement implies that the Hindus among those deleted from the rolls, and without pending appeals, could apply for citizenship as refugees and carry on receiving all benefits.
Addressing journalists in Bongaon, Kirtania urged Matuas and other eligible people to apply under the CAA without delay.
“There’s no cause for worry even if names were removed during the SIR. (Such people) can apply for citizenship under the CAA. Once they do, they will continue to receive all government benefits,” he said.
Matuas, however, say the paperwork required of CAA applicants is daunting, and that only a handful has done so successfully in the six-and-a-half years since the law was enacted.
Given that they informally enjoy many government benefits, they are also wary of declaring themselves refugees, fearing the consequences if they cannot subsequently furnish Bangladesh government documents to prove their credentials, as the CAA requires them to.
Such fears can only be even more prohibitive for non-refugees deleted by the SIR under the controversial “logical discrepancies” category.
“If someone fails to apply under the CAA for a long time despite such identity-related questions, there is a possibility that... they may also be deprived of government benefits,” Kirtania warned.
He claimed the reason many refugees were yet to apply for citizenship was the “political confusion” spread by the previous dispensation.
“Many Matua families became hesitant about the CAA because of the stand taken by former chief minister Mamata Banerjee. As a result, they did not apply,” Kirtania said.
“I myself belong to a Matua refugee family. I understand the problem from inside. It may take around three months to get citizenship, but once people apply, they will not ultimately be deprived of government benefits.”
The Bongaon subdivision is home to Matua headquarters Thakurnagar besides four Assembly constituencies with sizeable presence of the community: Bangaon Uttar, Bangaon Dakshin, Gaighata and Bagda.
The Matuas, mostly Bengali-speaking Namasudra refugees from Bangladesh, are a crucial electoral group in Bengal and have been a key constituency for the BJP.
Kirtania was inducted into the BJP’s first cabinet in Bengal after the party won all the Matua seats in North 24-Parganas and Nadia.
Trinamool accused the BJP government of sending contradictory signals about the status of welfare benefits for those excluded from the rolls.
“They should first decide whether people excluded from the voter list will continue to get government benefits. We don’t want any poor people deprived of services,” said Trinamool’s Bongaon organisational district president and former MLA, Biswajit Das.