The Trinamool Congress launched a sharp critique of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, targeting his virtual address to the Matua community in West Bengal. The party's central allegation was the Prime Minister's "silence on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)", which they claimed left the community's deep-seated anxieties unaddressed.
Allegations of an Empty-Handed PM and SIR Fears
Trinamool leaders asserted that the Prime Minister arrived at the virtual event "empty-handed, with no message to dispel SIR worries in the Matua heartland." SIR, or Supplementary List of Inclusions, refers to the process of updating voter rolls, which has become a contentious issue in Bengal. The party highlighted a stark contrast between the PM's silence and the Bengal BJP's previously loud campaigning on the CAA.
Party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh was direct in his accusation. "If PM Modi wanted to, he could have given a message to the Matuas. But he had none," he stated. Ghosh further claimed that after creating uncertainty, neither the PM nor his party had solutions to offer, and that the PM had "craftily avoided this contentious issue." He squarely blamed the "reckless BJP mandate to the Election Commission to remove names from voter lists" for landing people in trouble.
Matua MPs Voice Community's Apprehensions
Adding a powerful voice from within the community, Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Mamata Bala Thakur pointed out the gap between words and action. "Paying verbal obeisance to Matua gurus Harichand and Guruchand Thakur is one thing, but standing by their lakhs of believers... was the need of the hour. The PM said nothing," she remarked.
Thakur expressed the community's specific fear: that their voting rights would be stripped and they would be sent back to Bangladesh. She also made a significant observation regarding the draft voter rolls, noting, "while Muslims remain on the draft roll, more Hindus have been axed." The MP alleged a "political farce", accusing the BJP of holding CAA camps, including in Thakurbari, collecting money from applicants, and then letting the camps vanish without granting citizenship.
Beyond CAA: Corrections and Broader Accusations
The Trinamool's reaction also covered the PM's reference to "Rishi Bankim Babu" instead of the colloquial "Bankim Da". Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu saw this as a correction, suggesting the PM understood that honorifics like "Gandhi Da" or "Savarkar Da" don't exist, and similarly, there cannot be a "Bankim Da".
However, Basu pivoted to a larger question: "Will he — and his party — correct their attitude toward Bengal and Bengalis?" He raised concerns about attacks on Bengali speakers in other BJP-ruled states.
State Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya countered the PM's "misgovernance" remarks by highlighting that the Centre owes Bengal Rs 1.19 lakh crore in dues. She dismissed his political statements as having no value to the people. Spokesperson Kunal Ghosh also turned the 'cut money' criticism back on the PM, citing infrastructure failures in Gujarat and job card rackets in BJP-ruled states like UP, while noting that Bengal departments were receiving central awards for excellence.
The coordinated attack from multiple senior Trinamool leaders underscores the high political stakes in the Matua belt, a key voter base, and positions the CAA and voter list issues as central points of confrontation in Bengal's political arena.
