Three Lok Sabha members from the National Citizens' Party of India (NCPI) — formerly of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) — representing constituencies in the minority-dominated Murshidabad district of West Bengal, on Thursday, 6 August, wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking his intervention on two pressing issues affecting the region.

The Two Issues at the Centre of the Letter

The first concern relates to reports that police authorities have been directing mosques in Murshidabad to remove loudspeakers and microphones. The second involves a large backlog of tribunal decisions on voters whose names were deleted from electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise conducted earlier this year — a delay that is reportedly affecting residents' access to passports, land registration, and government welfare schemes.

Who Wrote the Letter

The three NCPI MPs who addressed the letter to the Home Minister are Khalilur Rahaman from Jangipur constituency, Abu Taher Khan from Murshidabad constituency, and Yusuf Pathan from Baharampur constituency — a former cricketer who entered electoral politics.

What the MPs Said on the Mosque Issue

On the loudspeaker removals, the letter stated: 'Reports indicate that police authorities are directing mosques to remove microphones/loudspeakers. While fully respecting the law and the Hon'ble Supreme Court's directions on noise regulations, I request that appropriate instructions be issued to ensure fair, uniform, and sensitive implementation without hurting religious sentiments.'

The MPs stopped short of alleging illegality, instead calling for implementation that is consistent and considerate of community sentiment. This comes amid a broader national debate over noise regulation enforcement near places of worship, which critics argue has been applied unevenly across religious communities in several states.

Voter Roll Deletions and Tribunal Backlog

On the electoral roll issue, the three MPs claimed that a significant number of 'genuine' voters had their names struck off during the SIR exercise and are still awaiting tribunal rulings. The delay, they argued, is creating a cascading effect — blocking affected individuals from completing passport verifications, registering land transactions, and accessing welfare entitlements.

The MPs urged Home Minister Shah to fast-track all pending genuine cases and ensure the process is completed by the end of 2025. They also requested consideration of additional tribunals if required, and the creation of a formal grievance-monitoring mechanism. Notably, they called on the government to ensure that 'affected genuine citizens' are not denied essential public services while their tribunal cases remain pending.

Political Context

The three MPs' switch from the TMC to the NCPI adds a layer of political significance to the outreach. By writing directly to the Union Home Minister — a senior figure in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre — the MPs are signalling a willingness to engage with the federal government on state-level grievances, a notable departure from their previous party's posture toward the Centre. Murshidabad, which borders Bangladesh, has long been a politically sensitive district, and issues of voter rolls and minority community rights carry considerable electoral weight in the region.

Whether the Home Ministry responds formally to the letter, and on what timeline, will be closely watched by both communities and political observers in West Bengal.