GUWAHATI: The “Bangladeshi” issue has resurfaced for a BJP candidate in Assam as the state prepares for the April 9 Assembly elections.
After filing her nomination from the Ramkrishnanagar seat in southern Assam’s Barak Valley, Congress candidate Suruchi Roy raised a citizenship-related controversy involving two-time sitting MLA Bijoy Malakar of the ruling BJP. “There is a case pending against the BJP candidate in the Gauhati High Court. He has not been able to provide his citizenship-related documents,” claimed Roy.
Malakar dismissed her charge outright, linking it to the elections and stated, “The matter is in the court. The court will examine it. My father has four brothers and they have been government employees."
In December last year, two persons – Braja Gopal Sinha and Bijoy Kumar Kanu – filed a writ petition in the High Court, claiming that Malakar is not an Indian citizen.
According to the synopsis of the petition, the petitioners had, in the last week of October the same year, come to know from “authentic sources” that Malakar is not an Indian citizen.
“The respondent No 1 (Malakar) and his parents entered India (Assam) after the cut-off date, 25th March 1971. The petitioners have collected all the voters’ lists including the voters’ lists of 1966 and 1971 of Karimganj town and on verification of the voters’ lists, the petitioners found that the name of the respondent No 1 was first enrolled in the supplementary list of 2005 at serial No 318, part No 96, Karimganj North Assembly constituency under House No 15 of main voters list of 2005, without any basis,” the synopsis read.
The name of the MLA’s father was not found enrolled in the voters’ list of 2005, 1966 and 1971, the petitioners had claimed.