TMC Panchayat Chief found to be Bangladeshi, used fake OBC certificate

A major controversy has erupted in West Bengal’s Malda district after the Harishchandrapur Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) confirmed that the Panchayat chief of Rashidabad Gram Panchayat, Lovely Khatun, is in fact a Bangladeshi citizen. What’s more alarming is that she allegedly used a forged OBC certificate to secure her seat in the Panchayat elections under the Trinamool Congress (TMC) banner.

The scandal came to light after a directive from the Calcutta High Court prompted an investigation into her citizenship status and caste certificate. The SDO's report confirmed that both were forged. As a result, Lovely Khatun has been stripped of her Panchayat head post. However, her basic membership in the Panchayat body remains intact, and no arrest has been made yet.

This incident has sent shockwaves through the local political landscape, with opposition parties, particularly the BJP, seizing the opportunity to attack the ruling TMC. BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said, “This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are countless Bangladeshi nationals occupying sensitive political positions across Bengal.”

According to sources, Khatun had managed to create a fake OBC certificate and other Indian identity documents, using them to contest and win the local body elections. Despite the removal from her head post, there is rising public anger over the delay in her arrest and the fact that she continues to be a member of the Panchayat.