Fear over NRC grips West Bengal

Panic over the National Register of Citizens seems to be spreading across West Bengal as people are queuing up at government and municipal offices to get their documents or to rectify the old ones. On the other hand, the Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamta Banerjee while addressing an administrative meeting said that NRC will not be carried out in the state.

Kolkata: Amid fears that NRC could be implemented in West Bengal hundreds of people queued up at government and municipal offices here and across the state for necessary documents.

The omission of a large number of Hindu Bengalis from the final NRC list in BJP-ruled Assam has evidently created fear among the people in West Bengal, which has seen influx of millions of people from Bangladesh.

The repeated assertions by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the Lok Sabha poll campaign that NRC would be implemented in West Bengal has apparently deepened the fear.

Large queues were seen outside Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) headquarters and other division offices in the city and BDO offices in other parts of Bengal as people waited for their turn in search of land and other necessary documents.

In rural Bengal similar picture was witnessed outside various government and panchayat offices.

"I have come here to issue my ration card. I'm waiting here from 7 am and its already 11 am now. It's so chaotic here and the concerned officer has not yet come," said Rabeya Begum, who was seen standing outside the civic body's headquarters in the city.

"It's a long cue. I'm standing here from 8 am. I am here to make corrections in my official documents." said another local named Mohsin Ali.

"For the necessary corrections in all the newly issued as well as old ration cards, the state government has issued an order. According to that, the correction process will begin at different camps of the block and administrative offices," said Block officer, Ranadeb Das.

However, the TMC government asserted that it will not allow implementation of the contentious NRC in the state.

"We are requesting the people not to panic at all. There will be no NRC in Bengal. The TMC government will never allow it. As long as TMC government is in power not a single person will be touched," Kolkata Mayor and senior minister Firhad Hakim told reporters.

West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Monday accused BJP of creating panic over NRC and had iterated she will not allow NRC exercise in the state.