New Delhi (Sputnik): India's governing party — Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — has slammed allegations that actress Anju Ghosh, who joined its ranks on Wednesday, was not an Indian national but a Bangladeshi.
Ghosh joined the party in the presence of the BJP's state President Dilip Ghosh in West Bengal's capital city Kolkata on Wednesday.
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Reacting to the row, Saptarshi Chowdhury, media-in-charge, BJP West Bengal, said the rumours are "completely false". "She has acted in Bangaldeshi movies but has also acted in Indian Bengali movies and has been living in Kolkata for quite some time".
BJP has meanwhile shared the actress' birth certificate, which states that she was born on 17/09/1966 in the city of Kolkata, India.
BJP presents the Indian birth certificate of actress Anju Ghosh who the opposition claimed to be Bangladeshi #anjughosh #BJP #WestBengal pic.twitter.com/Zm9OmL1Rnq
— Hans Singh (@HansSingh13) June 6, 2019
Earlier on Wednesday, controversy broke out when opposition leaders and some media outlets questioned the BJP as to how they could recruit a "Bangladeshi national" for their party.
Will her name be there in NRC? Is she also a termite as per @AmitShah’s claims? Will Ajay Bisht campaign against her in West Bengal assembly elections?
— Md Salim (@salimdotcomrade) June 5, 2019
Don’t know who’s more shameless, BJP leaders or its supporters!https://t.co/Q21utJLaB5
So ANI says that Bangladeshi actress Anju Ghosh, who joined the BJP, was asked about her citizenship status and guess what? She remained silent https://t.co/wvkaZiFUEO
— Rifat Jawaid (@RifatJawaid) June 6, 2019
The issue of nationality came to light against the backdrop of recent controversies that erupted during the recent Indian Parliamentary Elections, with BJP West Bengal Vice President Jay Prakash Majumdar lodging a complaint with the Election Commission of India against rival party Trinamool Congress for having Bangladeshi actor Ferdous Ahmed campaign for their party's candidate.
Subsequently, Ahmed was issued a notice by the Ministry of Home of Affairs (MHA), directing him to leave the country. The MHA also cancelled his business visa and blacklisted him.
The Communist Party of India (CPI), BJP's rival in the state of West Bengal, has questioned the induction of the actress.
"It would be deplorable if after all the big talks of nationalism, the BJP would be hypocritical enough to enroll a Bangladeshi actress in its cadre", CPI Secretary Dinesh Varshney said.
