Mamata vows to fight for citizens' rights accuses BJP of pushing divisive agenda

    Kolkata, Aug 14 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said she will fight "till her last breath" against any attempt to snatch people's freedom of speech, movement, and fundamental rights, accusing the BJP of pushing a divisive agenda across the country.
    Addressing a rally on the eve of Independence Day, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo opposed the proposed implementation of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, alleging it was a ploy to disqualify genuine voters and send them to "detention or concentration camps."
    "This is my pledge on the eve of Independence Day. We, the people of Bengal, were on the forefront of the freedom movement. Our revolutionaries gave their lives along with others across the country. In Andaman's Cellular Jail, you will see the names of a large number of freedom fighters from Bengal who were imprisoned there," she said.
    "Who formed the INA? Netaji. Who gave the national anthem? Rabindranath Tagore. Seventy per cent imprisoned in Cellular Jail were Bengalis and 30 per cent Punjabis," she added.
    "Where were the RSS and the BJP then? We won't allow them (BJP government) to snatch our freedom to speak, freedom of movement, or curb our liberty," she added.
    She questioned the motive behind the sudden implementation of SIR, pointing out that a similar revision was already completed in the state between 2002 and 2004.
    "People queued up before camps for hours to get Aadhaar cards a decade ago. Now, the EC suddenly says the cards are not citizenship proof. How many of those born before 1982 can produce birth certificates? We all knew school certificates could come in handy along with other documents. How many people can show PAN cards in this country?" she asked.
    Questioning the practicality of the documentation requirements, the CM said, "They are asking for the date of birth of parents. If 2002 is the base year, then the parents would likely be at least 20 to 25 years old. How many people have birth certificates from 1942?"
    "They don’t even understand the ground realities. Most children back then were born at home, especially in rural areas. Only a small section in urban areas like Kolkata Corporation had hospital births. Even I was born at home," she added, accusing the authorities of misusing power and imposing unreasonable conditions.
    "Those born in 2002, how will they get their parents' certificate? Did they have institutional delivery? How many hospitals were there? Those who came from Bangladesh just after partition or beforehaand , how will they show certificates? Those who claim to give citizenship are planning to take it away," she said.
    Their only agenda is to despatch a large number of genuine voters of opposition-ruled states like West Bengal to detention camps to roll out NRC, Banerjee said at the rally in Behala in south Kolkata.
    She also referred to the Supreme Court's verdict on the matter, stating that Bihar had received some relief regarding Aadhaar and voting rights.
    "The Supreme Court has said they have to accept Aadhaar card. They will also listen to Bengal's case in the coming days. My party MP filed a case in individual capacity. Then our government, party and other NGOs joined. But they (BJP) said that SIR will happen. I do not understand what they mean," she added.
    The CM also raised concern about alleged attacks on Bengali-speaking migrants in various BJP-ruled states.
    "I've received reports of Bengali-speaking labourers being tortured in Maharashtra, Gurgaon, Noida, Odisha, Assam, and Rajasthan. In one incident, I heard a migrant's ear was chopped off. Why this hatred towards a language?" she asked. A skilled professional was turned away from a hotel in Noida for speaking in Bengali, she alleged.
    "We respect all languages and embrace diversity. Unlike the BJP, we don't divide people," she added.
    She pointed out that while 1.5 crore migrants from other states live and work peacefully in Bengal, 22 lakh skilled migrant workers from Bengal are currently working in other states.
    "We welcome people from all states here. But in BJP-ruled states, our people face constant harassment," she said, adding that her government had helped over 1,000 migrant workers return to Bengal safely.
    Banerjee cited one case from Delhi, where a woman allegedly harassed by police was later brought back to Bengal, and only then felt safe enough to file a complaint.
    "They forced her to say she wasn't harassed due to her language. Once she returned, she filed an FIR detailing the torture she faced," Banerjee claimed.
    She reiterated the state's commitment to preserving linguistic diversity, highlighting how her government had promoted languages like Alchiki and Gurumukhi.
    She accused the Assam government of sending notices to Bengali speaking citizens in Coochbehar and Jalpaiguri to falsely implicate them and take them to concentration camps.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)