Kolkata, Nov 1 — The Matua refugees coming to West Bengal from neighbouring Bangladesh who had been jailed during the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government, will be released in the coming days and will also be provided with land and accommodation in the state, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Sunday.
He also promised that such Matua refugees will first be granted citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and thereafter their names will be enrolled in the voters' list.
Matuas are a Backward Class Hindu community from erstwhile East Pakistan or present day Bangladesh, who settled in different parts of West Bengal over time since Independence.
CM Adhikari made these promises while addressing the second International Matua Gosai Conference at Thakurbari, the ancestral home of the Matua leadership in Thakurnagar at Bangaon in North 24 Parganas district.
"After the recent regime change in Bangladesh, many Matuas among Hindu brothers who settled there faced massive atrocities. Then, in West Bengal, the previous Trinamool Congress-ruled administration selectively arrested many Hindu refugees, including those from the Matua community. On September 1, 2025, our Union Home Minister Amit Shah promised that no police would touch those who had left Bangladesh and entered India to save their lives till December 31, 2024," the Chief Minister said.
Thereafter, Chief Minister Adhikari announced that if any Matua refugees are still in jail without trial in any correctional home in the border adjacent Bangaon and Barasat in North 24 Parganas and Ranaghat in Nadia district, they will be released from jail with dignity and will be given land and houses.
The Chief Minister in his speech also promised to give CAA certificates to the people from the Matua community by December 31 this year.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Adhikari also launched a scathing attack over the opposition parties and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) over the latter's movement on the twin issues of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
"Those who are trying to destabilise the country and state will not be spared. We will fight against them. The Hindus will not become refugees again in their own land," the Chief Minister said.
Speaking on the occasion, he also recalled how his own mother, who hailed from Barisal in erstwhile East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, was driven out overnight from there just on religious grounds.
"My mother came here as a refugee from Barisal. She was thrown out of Bangladesh just because she was a Hindu. I will be vigilant against those who want to destabilise our country and state like Bangladesh," Chief Minister Adhikari added.