Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Meghalaya governor Tathagata Roy has stirred significant controversy by proposing a circumcision test for male applicants seeking citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
In a post on his social media handle, Roy expressed concerns about the dissemination of misinformation by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) regarding the CAA in West Bengal. He called upon the Union Home Ministry to clarify certain aspects promptly, such as the process for granting citizenship to Hindu refugees from Bangladesh and the status of those whose applications are rejected.
Roy's statement included the suggestion that Hindu, Buddhist, or Christian refugees should be presumed eligible for citizenship. He further proposed that a male's religious status could be determined through a circumcision test, and females accompanying such males would be presumed eligible for citizenship.
On his X handle, Roy posted: "TMC is raining disinformation in West Bengal about CAA. Chances of people being misled are increasing by the day. Union Home Ministry must wake up and CLARIFY THE FOLLOWING WITHOUT DELAY: How would a Hindu fugitive from Islamic torture in Bangladesh who entered India with only the clothes on his or her back earn citizenship? What would be the status of a fugitive whose application for citizenship is rejected?"
“To my mind the answers should be as follows: A Hindu, Buddhist or Christian fugitive MUST BE PRESUMED TO BE ENTITLED TO CITIZENSHIP. The test of the religious status of a male must be CIRCUMCISION OR OTHERWISE. All females accompanying a male so found to be Hindu must be PRESUMED TO BE ENTITLED TO CITIZENSHIP,” Roy added.
The former governor faced severe criticism from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) for his remarks, with the party condemning his "bigotry" and labelling his comments as regressive and discriminatory.
"Tathagata Roy sunk to new depths of BIGOTRY" by the suggestions. This....exemplifies the REGRESSIVE MINDSET and TOXIC CULTURE perpetuated by @BJP4India. Such DISCRIMINATORY and DEHUMANISING remarks have no place in a civilised society," the TMC posted on social media platform X.
In response to the TMC's condemnation, Roy defended his stance, asserting that the circumcision test was justified in cases where there was doubt about an individual's religion, especially considering that Muslims are excluded from the provisions of the CAA.
Despite facing backlash, Roy reaffirmed his position in a subsequent post, maintaining that his suggestion was relevant given the context of the CAA's exclusion of Muslims from citizenship eligibility.
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