Kolkata, Sep 9 (IANS) The legal cell of a leading association of the Matua community in West Bengal, led by Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member, Mamata Bala Thakur, filed an FIR at the Haringhata Police Station in Nadia district against the party’s Lok Sabha member MP Mahua Moitra, over her recent adverse comments about the community in a public meeting in the same district.

Moitra is Trinamool’s Lok Sabha member from Krishnanagar constituency in Nadia district.

The legal cell of All India Matua Mahasangh had filed the FIR against Moitra and has already threatened to approach her in court over her “anti-Matua” comments recently.

Last week, the association wrote a letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, raising the demand that Moitra should publicly apologise for her comments, which had hurt the sentiments of the people from the Matua community.

Prior to that, the Mahasangh issued a statement condemning Moitra for her “anti-Matua” comments and also demanded a public apology from her in the matter.

However, with Moitra not having withdrawn her comments nor apologised so far, the association had now filed an FIR against her.

At a recent public meeting at Krishnanagar, Moitra commented on the leanings of the Matua Community voters towards the BJP.

“What kind of approach is this when one is with Trinamool Congress around the year, and then behaves like a traditional Hindu before the elections? When you need work, development schemes, or roads, you think of Mamata Banerjee. You come to collect allowance under different state development schemes, wearing wooden bracelets. Then what happens to you? I know that the video of my speech will go viral. I really do not care,” the Trinamool Congress MP was heard saying at the public meeting at Krishnanagar.

Matuas, a backward class Hindu community, came to West Bengal as refugees from neighbouring Bangladesh and settled in pockets of Nadia and North 24 Parganas districts.

The community has been a dedicated vote bank for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Even in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, when Trinamool Congress had secured landslide victories in most of the constituencies in West Bengal, BJP candidates won from both Bangaon constituency in North 24 Parganas district and Ranaghat constituency in Nadia district, both being Matua-dominated constituencies.

–IANS

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