Kolkata, Jul 17 (PTI) Escalating her attack on the Centre, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday accused the BJP-led Union government of systematically targeting Bengali-speaking citizens by branding them as “Bangladeshi” or “Rohingya” and conspiring to strike off lakhs of names from Bengal’s voters’ list.
A day after taking on the Centre from a Trinamool Congress platform here, Banerjee escalated her offensive from a government event for the first time, alleging that a “notification” had been issued threatening deportation for merely speaking Bengali.
“They have issued a notification saying to deport anyone who speaks Bengali. Why? Don’t they know Bengali is the second-most spoken language in Asia and fifth in the world?” the Chief Minister asked while inaugurating state projects, including low-cost housing schemes, at the event at Newtown.
Her remarks follow a similar outburst from the TMC stage a day earlier, when Banerjee had launched a scathing attack on the Centre for allegedly weaponising linguistic identity to further its political goals.
Without naming any agency or citing the notification’s source, the TMC supremo challenged the BJP to back up its “wild claims” about the presence of 17 lakh Rohingyas in the country.
“Where are these Rohingyas? Give us the addresses. Rohingya is a tribe from Myanmar. Since when did they start speaking Bengali? Those who say these things don’t even know what they are talking about,” Banerjee said.
She added that “skilled Bengali workers” are being targeted in BJP-ruled states like Maharashtra, Assam and Odisha.
“People who speak in Bengali are being labelled as Bangladeshis or Rohingyas. Why? Because of their accent? Those who came here in 1971, before or during the war, are Indian citizens. Many were born before Partition. Are they not Indians? There are different dialects in Bengali, which is a characteristic of the language. But that does not mean they are Bangladeshi,” she asserted.
Banerjee recalled the 1971 agreement between former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Bangladesh’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, which, she said, granted Indian citizenship to refugees from the 1971 Liberation War.
Reiterating that India has offered shelter to certain individuals for “geopolitical” reasons, Banerjee, in a veiled reference to former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, currently in India, remarked, “Our country has kept some people as guests. Haven’t I supported that? Because there are political reasons. India has its own reasons. So why are you branding someone as Bangladeshi just for speaking Bengali?
Warning the BJP of political consequences, Banerjee slammed the alleged attempts to strike off 17 lakh names from Bengal’s voters’ list, terming it a calculated attempt to deprive genuine citizens of their democratic rights.
“Who are you to say they won’t vote? Any Indian citizen has the right to vote. It doesn’t matter what caste or religion they belong to,” she said.
She also highlighted that around 1.5 crore migrant workers from other parts of the country are currently working in West Bengal.
“I am happy about that. They are part of Bengal’s mosaic - celebrating Durga Puja, Eid, Chhat, Guru Nanak’s Birthday, and Christmas together. We never brand anyone here. But the workers we send are skilled, and still they face atrocities elsewhere,” Banerjee said.
Slamming the BJP’s governance model, Banerjee said, “If your mind is a desert, you can’t run a state. You need to breathe freely under the open sky. Politicians run the government. If they are not politically sound, they can never be good administrators.
Touching on recent reports of Bengali speakers being harassed in Odisha, Maharashtra, and Assam, Banerjee switched to Odia: "Khaunti, karunti, jaunti, kintu jhogra na karunti. Amader lokeder opor atyachar na karunti (They eat, work, go—but don’t fight. Don’t torture our people).
Responding to Banerjee’s remarks, BJP’s West Bengal unit president Samik Bhattacharya hit back, saying if the Trinamool Congress has the courage, let it go and ask Bengalis for votes in any state outside West Bengal.
"Forget winning votes, they won’t even be able to save their deposit,” he said.
The TMC has sharpened its ‘Bengali identity’ pitch ahead of the crucial 2026 Assembly polls, with Banerjee attempting to draw a line between Bengali linguistic pride and the BJP’s national identity politics.
Thursday’s speech, delivered from a government platform, further indicates her intent to use state machinery to amplify the political message.
On the issue of alleged “economic deprivation”, the CM accused the Centre of blocking central funds for welfare schemes.
“For five consecutive years, Bengal ranked number one in 100-day work (MGNREGA), rural housing, and rural roads. But the Centre has not released a single paisa for the past four to five years. Still, we’ve built 12 lakh houses under ‘Banglar Bari’ using state funds. Another 16 lakh people will receive funds from December onwards,” Banerjee said.
She also inaugurated two new affordable housing schemes-‘Nijjan’ and ‘Sujan’- built at a cost of Rs 290 crore for the economically weaker sections.
“The government gave the land for free. These homes will be allotted through a lottery in a transparent manner. Everyone deserves a roof over their head,” she said.