Hindu Bengalis trusted on BJP but elected representatives of the party maintaining strange silence: AABHA

September 3: Exclusion of 19,06,657 persons from the final NRC has invited the displeasure of even some of the associations and individuals who were hardcore supporters or sympathisers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The final NRC list of Assam’s National Register of Citizens (NRC) was published on 31 August, 2019. Out of a total number of 3,30,27,661 applicants, the names of 3,11,21,004 were included in the final NRC. That means a total of 19,06,657 persons were excluded from the NRC.

Struggle for existence compelled many of the associations to voice strong opposition to the NRC wherein such a huge number of people were thrown out from the list. On Monday, the members of All Assam Bengali Hindu Association (AABHA) along with Goirik Bharat and some other like minded associations came out in open protest at the pedestal of Silchar Khudiram statue. These organisations are known to be trusted supporters of BJP, but at the present hour of crisis they were found to rally behind lakhs of Hindu Bengalis who were excluded from the final NRC.

“Out of the total of 19,06,657 excluded persons, almost 11 lakh of them are Hindus and further the majority out of them are Hindu-Bengalis. The Hindu-Bengalis trusted upon the BJP and made the party candidates win the Lok Sabha election with an overwhelming majority, but now they are disillusioned. The elected representatives of BJP from Barak Valley are maintaining a strange silence when around 11 lakh Hindu Bengalis are on the verge of being ‘stateless’. The MPs & MLAs of the Valley has got no right to continue in their posts as because they have totally ignored the electorate who voted them to power.” These were the words spoken by Basudev Sharma, President of AABHA. He finally said, “Elected Representatives should resign taking moral responsibility of this catastrophe.”

Wearing black badges, poet-journalist Atin Das too spoke on the same lines. He categorically said that the notification issued by the BJP government in 2015 turned out to be of no avail and seemed to be nothing more than eyewash. Basudev Sharma also raised a strong demand to implement the dual notification of 2015, which can give protection to the Hindu-Bengalis. He lamented that if BJP State President Ranjit Dass, heavyweight minister Himanta Biswa Sarma could speak up against this ‘faulty’ NRC, then why the representatives of Barak Valley are tight lipped. As a party too, BJP from Barak Valley has not given any official statement on such a huge social crisis.

Subhadeep Dutta said, “Hindus and to be specific, Hindu-Bengalis are at the receiving end. If the BJP leaders fails to wipe out the pains of their own brethren, then they should resign.” Cultural activist Joydeep Chakraborty made an appeal to the Durga Puja Committees to come forward and help those excluded persons in their legal fight.

Manibhushan Choudhury of Goirik Bharat too raised a strong voice and said that people will lose trust upon the BJP if such a huge number of Hindu-Bengalis are made victims. Among others, Shantanunandan Bhattacharjee and Nibedita Chakraborty also aired their grievances on the silent role of our elected representatives of this valley.