Bengali Migrants Row: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, her nephew and TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee and other party leaders took out a protest march on Kolkata road, alleging harassment of Bengali-speaking migrants in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states.
Recently, on July 10, she expressed her concerns over difficulties being faced by people from Bengal living at Jai Hind Colony in Vasant Kunj, New Delhi.
“I have decided to speak more in Bangla from now on, hold me in detention camps if you can,” she said at Kolkata rally.
The TMC chief wrote a note on X, highlighting the sufferings of the Bengali migrants. “I am deeply disturbed by the alarming news of harassment emerging from Jai Hind Colony in Vasant Kunj, New Delhi – a settlement predominantly inhabited by Bengalis who build the city as part of its unorganised workforce,” her X post read.
Water Supply Cut On BJP Govt’s Order, Alleges Mamata
“Their water supply was reportedly cut on orders from the BJP-led government. Electricity meters were confiscated and power was abruptly cut the day before yesterday. Residents also claim Delhi Police, backed by RAF personnel, blocked private water tankers they had arranged and paid for. A forced eviction is currently underway despite the matter being sub-judice following another transgression last December by the Delhi police. How can we claim to be a democratic republic if the basic rights to shelter, water, electricity are being trampled upon?,” she added.
There are over 1.5 crore migrant workers in Bengal who live with dignity, she said, but the same cannot be said for BJP-ruled states, where Bengalis are being treated as infiltrators in their own country.
Speaking Bengali Does Not Make One A Bangladeshi: Mamata
“Speaking Bengali does not make one a Bangladeshi. These individuals are as much citizens of India as anyone else, regardless of what language they speak,” she asserted.
“Having failed in their attempts to deprive Bengalis in West Bengal, BJP is now exporting their Bangla-Birodhi agenda to other parts of the country in a strategic and systemic manner. Disturbing reports have emerged from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh, where Bengali-speaking individuals are facing targeted persecution. And now, this pattern of hostility has reached even the national capital,” the chief minister said.
“We will not remain silent while people from Bengal are treated like trespassers in their own country. Bengal stands in solidarity with every oppressed voice. We will raise this issue in every possible forum,” she concluded.