‘Join TMC, become citizen’, Amit Malviya slams Mamata Banerjee govt

Kolkata: Amit Malviya, BJP's IT cell chief and central observer for West Bengal, has employed a cartoon with the tagline “Join TMC, Become Citizen” to criticise the West Bengal government and the Trinamool Congress for allegedly facilitating illegal Bangladeshi infiltration.

Malviya linked the cartoon to the recent arrest of Ahammed Hossain Azad, an illegal Bangladeshi infiltrator, by Enforcement Directorate officials. Investigations revealed that Azad was not only residing illegally in West Bengal but was also involved in money laundering and arranging fake Indian identity documents for other illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators.

The cartoon depicts a portrait of a woman, seemingly resembling West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, positioned behind a counter labelled “Seva Kendra – One stop for every document”.

The counter window features three taglines: “Welcome New Voters, Join TMC, Become Citizen”, “AADHAAR, Voter ID, Ration, Pan”, and “No document required, no question asked.”

Additionally, the counter board includes the tagline: “Special Assistance available for Rohingyas & Bangladeshi.”

Since the start of the year, multiple arrests have been made in connection with operations targeting the creation of fake Indian identity documents, including passports, for illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators.

Last month, Kolkata Police submitted a charge sheet in a lower court, revealing that out of 130 individuals implicated, 120 were Bangladeshi nationals and the remaining were Indian citizens. The Bangladeshi nationals were primarily charged with paying substantial sums to obtain counterfeit Indian passports.

The accused Indian nationals are charged with facilitating the creation of fake Indian identity documents, including passports, for illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators.

Among those implicated is Abdul Hai, a retired Assistant Sub-Inspector of Kolkata Police. The charge sheet highlights Hai's financial gains from clearing 52 police verification processes, where he served as the on-ground inquiry and verification officer.

Investigators have uncovered a systematic approach employed by rackets facilitating fake Indian identity documents for infiltrators. Upon illegally entering Indian territory, infiltrators connect with local agents and agree to pay substantial amounts for forged documents.

Initially, they are provided safe shelters in villages near the Bangladesh border, both land and coastal.

The process begins with obtaining fake ration cards, which serve as the foundation for acquiring other identification documents such as EPIC, PAN, and Aadhaar cards. The final step involves securing fake passports based on these forged identity documents.

(inputs from IANS)