Brother Who Ditched Ghani Welcomed Back, But Dispute Over Citizenship

MALDA PUZZLE DANCE Of DEMOCRACY
Cong in dynasty dilemma
Subhro Maitra TNN
Malda: Like in Delhi, dynasty rules Congress politics in Malda. Congress icon ABA Ghani Khan Chowdhury may have passed away In 2006, but his shadow looms large over the district, where family ties, friendship and enmity are the brushstrokes that make up the grand political canvas. When Ghani Khan, known as Barkatda to all, ruled Malda politics, the leader’s Kotwali residence was the focus of all the attention. Even after his death, Malda residents stood by Barkatda’s family. Ghani’s younger brother Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury or Daluda won the Lok Sabha bypoll from Malda on a Congress ticket after Ghani’s death. Ghani’s sister Ruby Noor was an MLA and district Congress president till she died. Ruby’s daughter was elected from Sujapur in the Assembly bypoll recently. All was well till Abu Naser Khan Chowdhury, Ghani’s second brother, came back from Switzerland to join the poll fray. Better known as Lebuda, Naser had left the country to become a Swiss citizen following a tiff with Ghani. The elder brother never forgave Naser, who had run away with Ghani’s wife. So, till Ghani was alive, Naser was persona non grata in Malda politics. Things changed post 2006. Blood ties proved supreme and younger brother Hasem Khan, now an MP, wants the Congress high command to give Naser a ticket from the newly created Malda North constituency. The problem with Naser is he had his name enrolled in the voter’s list under the English Bazaar Assembly constituency (EPIC No. 2994127), despite being a foreign citizen. This led to an enquiry by the Election Commission, prompting Naser to surrender his foreign citizenship. But a clearance from the Swiss government is still awaited. This has left the Congress high command in a quandary. It is still waiting for Abu Naser to get the clearance, giving the Opposition CPM an advantage in the run-up to the polls. The foreign question apart, Ghani loyalists in the Congress are yet to come to terms with Lebuda’s past — the way he “betrayed” Barkatda, who has fierce loyalists in Malda. Erosion victims like Kedar Mandal or migrant labourers like Taslim Sain still remember how Barkatda would visit their villages once a month and ask “Ki khabor toder? (How are you people?)” Old-timers recall how Abu Naser fought the 1996 elections against his elder brother as an Independent with tacit support of the rival CPM. Naser failed badly and kept away from Kotwali since then, only to return after Ghani’s death. “How do we accept a person who ditched Barkatda when elections here are still being fought in his name? Will people vote for him?” said Narendra Nath Tiwari, chairman of English Bazaar Municipality and district Intuc chief. Others gave a piece of their mind to AICC observers who had come over to Malda on two occasions. All of them spoke in favour of Sabitri Mitra, a four-time MLA and Ghani Khan’s close aide till his last. Even a section of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress was in Mitra’s favour. The controversy over Lebuda’s citizenship has thus come in handy for these Congress leaders. The fact is, Abu Naser took Swiss citizenship way back in 1963. The matter came to light after Hasem Khan wrote to the joint secretary (foreigners) in the Union home ministry on December 22, 2008, regarding his brother’s resumption of Indian citizenship under Section 8(2) of the Citizenship Act, 1955. Without this, he wouldn’t be able to fight an election. On January 2, 2009, the joint secretary (foreigners) wrote back, pointing out that under the Citizenship Act, once an Indian citizen renounces Indian nationality, he cannot re-acquire Indian citizenship automatically. He advised Naser to apply for Indian citizenship. The controversy took a new turn after it was found that Naser had enrolled himself as a voter in Malda despite his foreign citizenship. Naser’s niece Mousam Noor on Monday said: “Naser Khan is going to be the candidate. The delay is technical. Things will get sorted out after the papers from Switzerland arrive.” She also hinted that if Naser was not given ticket, she might be the candidate. Supporters of Naser have already begun campaigning for him. Graffiti were seen at a number of places in North Malda in his support. “With barely 40 days left before the polls on April 30, we have not yet got a candidate. Worse, too many rumours are doing the rounds. We don’t know how we’ll manage in such a short time as CPM has already started campaigning,” said Congress MLA Krishnendu Choudhury.