BJP leader prescribes ‘circumcision test’ for citizenship-seekers
A statement made by BJP leader Tathagata Roy, also the party’s former Bengal chief, from his account on the X platform, suggesting that circumcision should be the criterion for determining the religious affiliation of a male seeking citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), has sparked considerable controversy.
Roy asserted, “A Hindu, Buddhist, or Christian individual fleeing persecution should be presumed eligible for citizenship. The assessment of a male’s religious status should be based on circumcision or its absence. Furthermore, all females accompanying a male identified as Hindu should be presumed eligible for citizenship.”
In defence of his position, he elaborated, “Years ago, during admission to Engineering Colleges, all males underwent a medical examination, which included undressing before a male doctor! This was not to determine circumcision but to check for hydrocele. There was never any objection to this procedure! So why object now?”
Roy faced strong criticism for his remarks and later clarified his earlier statements, stating that he made the suggestion due to the exclusion of Muslims from the citizenship law.
The Trinamool Congress condemned Tathagata Roy’s remarks on the CAA as a “crude insult”, questioning the narrative the BJP sought to promote.
The CAA, enacted in 2019 and notified last Monday, aims to grant Indian citizenship to persecuted minorities—Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians—but not Muslims—from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who arrived in India by 2014.
Trinamool Congress’s Bengal General Secretary Kunal Ghosh criticised Tathagata Roy for perpetuating religious discrimination through such derogatory remarks.
