On Thursday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jay Prakash Majumdar called a press conference in front of the West Bengal BJP headquarters, to present documents attesting to the valid Indian citizenship of former Bangladeshi actor Anju Ghosh.
Anju officially joined BJP on Wednesday, leading some quarters to raise questions about her Indian citizenship.
The papers that were presented included Anju’s birth certificate, voter ID card, Permanent Account Number (Pan) card, and a photocopy of her passport.
“Actor Anju Ghosh was born in Kolkata. She is an Indian citizen by birth. She is a resident of Salt Lake’s Sector 2 region,” Prakash told reporters.
Prakash also said: “Anju Ghosh was born in Kolkata in 1966. Her birth date was noted down by Kolkata municipality. Aadhaar card, Pan card, and voter ID card had been issued for her name. Anju has an Indian passport.”
On Wednesday, two months after Anju participated in election campaigns by BJP, West Bengal BJP Chief Dilip Ghosh handed her a party flag at the state BJP headquarters in Kolkata.
On the occasion, which was broadcast live on Facebook by BJP’s West Bengal chapter, the West Bengal BJP chief announced: “Today, popular film actress Anju Ghosh is joining our party. She has been wanting to join BJP for a long time. Today we have got the real ‘Beder Meye Josna’ and we are happy to have her in our party.”
The 52-year-old actor said she was happy to be a member of the BJP, according to a report published in The Indian Express.
However, questions were raised about her citizenship by Indian media, such as the ANI news agency. Diptansu Chaudhury, member of BJP opposition Trinamool Congress, quipped on twitter: “Soon from Bhartiya Janata to Bangladeshi Janata Party. Bangladeshi actress joins @BJP4India. Wow. Truly international party.”
In response, the West Bengal BJP chief posted a photo of Anju’s birth certificate, registered in 2003, on social media to back his claim that she is an Indian citizen.
Srmt. Anju Ghosh has recently joined our BJP. It has created some ripples and questions about her citizenship status. She is an Indian citizen and to rest all doubts, her “Birth Certificate” is the proof of her nationality. pic.twitter.com/mOwtMRryZh
— Dilip Ghosh (@DilipGhoshBJP) June 6, 2019
Anju was born at a nursing home in Kolkata on September 17, 1966, according to the certificate.
The West Bengal BJP chief’s caption for the certificate on Twitter reads: “Srmt Anju Ghosh has recently joined our BJP. It has created some ripples and questions about her citizenship status. She is an Indian citizen and to rest all doubts, her birth certificate is the proof of her nationality.”
Anju’s last acting role was in “Streer Maryada,” which came out in 2002. She received international recognition for the titular role in “Beder Meye Josna,” which came out in 1989 and is still the highest grossing Bangladeshi film.
Anju reprised the role in the remake of the film by India in 1991.
The actor received a lifetime membership to the Bangladesh Film Artiste Association at an event held in Dhaka in September last year. At the event, Anju said: “I will return to Bangladesh. I must return. Because, I am hearing good news as well as news about the bad condition of the film industry.”
