Claims by BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, about rising ‘Bangladeshi infiltration’ in West Bengal have been dismissed by a recent NITI Aayog report.
According to the ‘Summary Report for the State of West Bengal’ by NITI Aayog, Bengal’s population growth rate stands at a mere 0.5%, significantly lower than the national average of 0.9%. Political analysts believe that if infiltration were genuinely occurring in Bengal, the state’s growth rate would certainly surpass the national average.
State Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya stated that the NITI Aayog data once again clarifies the misleading nature of BJP’s claims. Mamata Banerjee has also accused the ‘Special Intensive Revision’ of voter lists as an attempt to implement NRC. Amidst the controversy of an NRC notice sent to a Rajbanshi resident of Cooch Behar by the Assam government, this central report is considered a major setback for the BJP. It is also being seen as a crucial document for the anti-National Register of Citizens movement.