Mumbai Mayor vows crackdown on illegal hawkers, orders birth certificates' checks
India Today
Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde has announced a comprehensive verification of birth certificates for all hawkers on the city's footpaths, targeting illegal Bangladeshi nationals and addressing security concerns.
Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde on Friday announced that the birth certificates of all hawkers operating on Mumbai’s footpaths will be thoroughly verified as part of a crackdown on illegal Bangladeshi nationals living in the city. She warned that no one would be spared and said it was a serious matter affecting national security.
“We will check the birth certificates of all hawkers in Mumbai thoroughly. No one will be spared. There will be no excuses accepted for not having birth certificates. This is a huge issue and amounts to a kind of treason,” Tawde told reporters.
The mayor was speaking after chairing her first administrative meeting with officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The meeting was also attended by former MP Kirit Somaiya, who has been consistently raising concerns about illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in the city and urging strict action by the authorities.
Tawde expressed shock over claims that the administration had accepted around 237 bogus birth certificates without initiating action. She alleged that in several cases, non-existent hospitals were shown as places of birth.
Referring to details shared by Somaiya, Tawde said one Dr Ashraf Kazi had allegedly issued a birth certificate to a woman claiming a home delivery, despite not being present at the time. “Despite such serious allegations, no action has been taken. Not even an FIR has been registered,” she said.
Somaiya, meanwhile, claimed there could be over 10,000 fake birth certificates or NOCs issued in certain pockets of Mumbai, areas which he alleged also had a high concentration of Bangladeshi nationals.
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