Overview
- Supporters of Shantanu Thakur and TMC MP Mamatabala Thakur fought near the Union minister’s Thakurnagar residence, leaving several injured before police moved in to restore order.
- Shantanu Thakur had said losing around one lakh Matua names in the rolls could be a necessary “sacrifice” if 50 lakh Bangladeshi Muslims and Rohingyas were disenfranchised, a comment he later claimed was misinterpreted.
- The Special Intensive Revision in West Bengal dropped about 58 lakh dead, duplicate, permanently shifted or absentee electors, with Matua-dominated areas in North 24 Parganas, Nadia and parts of Jalpaiguri notably affected.
- TMC condemned the remarks as a betrayal of the Matua community and called the 50 lakh figure baseless, while BJP leaders urged Matuas to apply under the CAA and described the omissions as temporary.
- BJP MLA Subrata Thakur sought fast-track hearings of CAA applications to secure citizenship and voter enrolment, as parties weigh potential fallout among a key vote bloc ahead of next year’s Assembly polls.