West Bengal CM Pledges Citizenship Certificates for 2.5 Lakh Matuas

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced that the state government aims to grant citizenship certificates to 250,000 Matua community members under the Citizenship Amendment Act by December 31, 2026. Currently, only 25,000 individuals have received status under the act. The administration plans to include these new citizens in the voter list starting in January.

During a visit to Thakurnagar, Adhikari credited the Matua community for the BJP’s 2026 election victory, asserting that the party’s win prevented the state from turning into Bangladesh. The announcement follows the transfer of citizenship application processing from Empowered Committees to District Collectors.

Editor's note: The brief effectively synthesizes the political and policy-related details from the source text within the required word count.