Union Minister of State Shantanu Thakur speaks to the media at his residence in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal on Monday.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Ahead of Lok Sabha polls, differences between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Minister Shantanu Thakur and her aunt and Trinamool Congress MP Mamata Bala Thakur have come out in the open at Thakurnagar, the headquarters of All India Matua Mahasangha.
Thakurnagar has been on the boil since Sunday night over attempts by the two MPs to take control of a house where community matriarch Binapani Devi, affectionately known as ‘Boroma’, passed away five years ago. Mr. Thakur is the grandson of Binapani Devi, while Ms. Bala Thakur is her daughter-in-law. Both of them hail from the family of founders of Matua sect.
On Monday, the West Bengal police registered a case against the Union Minister based on a complaints by his aunt. Ms. Bala Thakur, who was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the Trinamool, has alleged that Mr. Thakur forcibly entered the room of Binapani Devi. She also released a video where the BJP leader was seen with a hammer trying to break open a lock on a door.
Supporters of both the sides of the family having allegiance of Trinamool and BJP came face to face on Monday and a large number of police personnel had to be deployed to contain the situation.
Contrasting views
While Mr. Thakur said that he had done nothing wrong as he entered the room of her grandmother, his aunt has voiced out that Jai Shri Ram slogans were being raised at Thakurnagar where devotees come to offer their respect to founders of the sect, Harichand Thakur and Guruchand Thakur.
Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Mamata Bala Thakur interacts with the media in Kolkata on March 4.
| Photo Credit:
PTI
The development also comes at a time when the annual mela of Matuas is being held at Thakurnagar and lakhs of devotees are visiting the area. The development also comes weeks after Matuas and Thakurnagar were at the centre of debate on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the Rules, which were notified on March 11.
Amid differences with his aunt, Mr. Thakur claimed to have received a letter from terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), threatening him that if the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is implemented in West Bengal, they will “burn the entire country”. The letter, written in Bengali, also threatened to bring down the ‘Thakurbari’, in case Muslims were tortured following the implementation of the NRC.
The BJP leader said he will register a case in connection with the Rajya Sabha member and will inform Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Matua sect comprising Namasudras or Dalits was set up by Harichand Thakur at Orakandi, present-day Bangladesh, in the mid-19th century. The Muslims in the State fear that after granting citizenship to Hindus under the CAA, the next step would be bringing in NRC.
Shantanu Thakur is contesting Bongaon Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket and is pitted against the Trinamool’s Biswajit Das.
