Overview

• Uttam Kumar Brajbasi, a lifelong Cooch Behar resident, received a notice from Assam’s Foreigners’ Tribunal directing him to prove his citizenship by July 15 or face being declared an illegal migrant under the NRC framework.
• Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee characterized the notice as an unconstitutional overreach by Assam authorities, accusing them of targeting Bengalis ahead of West Bengal’s upcoming assembly elections.
• Trinamool Congress leaders organized protest rallies in Cooch Behar and appealed to opposition parties to unite against what they call a divisive move that threatens marginalized Rajbanshi communities.
• Local officials have mobilized to reconstruct lost electoral rolls and issue a scheduled caste certificate for Brajbasi after archival records were destroyed in a 1971 fire at the district election office.
• The BJP dismissed the case as an isolated instance tied to forged documents, blaming West Bengal’s administration for blurred lines in citizenship verification.