The Foreigners Tribunal in Assam has issued an NRC notice to a man who has been a resident of Dinhata in Cooch Behar, West Bengal for over 50 years. Despite furnishing valid identity documents, he is being harassed on suspicion of being a foreigner/illegal migrant. This is a brutal assault on democracy and proof that the ruling BJP government in Assam is fomenting trouble in Bengal to topple the government. An egregious attempt is being made to intimidate, disenfranchise, and target marginalised communities. A similar exercise is being carried out in Bihar by rolling out a special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to weed out voters who didn't vote for the BJP in the last Parliamentary elections, this move has been initiated by the Election Commission under instructions from the Centre. The BJP is desperate to win 2/3 majority in the state elections to be held later this year so that it doesn't have to depend on fair weather friends like Nitish Kumar and Chirag Paswan. All opposition parties need to unite and neutralise BJP’s unlawful attempts to grab power by hook or by crook in states not ruled by it.
