Kolkata: Calling it an insult to all “Bengali-speaking people of India”, Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee urged all the Opposition parties to take up strongest possible protests against Delhi Police referring to Bengali as “Bangladeshi language”.
Taking to social media, Mamata Banerjee said: “See now how Delhi police under the direct control of Ministry of Home, Government of India is describing Bengali as “Bangladeshi” language! Bengali, our mother tongue, the language of Rabindranath Tagore and Swami Vivekananda, the language in which our National Anthem and the National Song (the latter by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay) are written, the language in which crores of Indians speak and write, the language which is sanctified and recognised by the Constitution of India, is now described as a Bangladeshi language!!”
She further stated: “Scandalous, insulting, anti-national, unconstitutional!! This insults all Bengali-speaking people of India. They cannot use this kind of language which degrades and debases us all.”
“We urge immediate strongest possible protests from all against the anti-Bengali Government of India who are using such anti-Constitutional language to insult and humiliate the Bengali- speaking people of India,” Banerjee wrote on X.
Echoing similar sentiments, TMC national general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee demanded immediate suspension of the investigating officer named in the letter, Amit Dutt, and sought a formal, public apology from the Delhi Police, the BJP and the Union Home Ministry, led by Amit Shah.
Terming it a calculated insult by the Union government and an attempt to strip language of its identity, while labelling Bengali-speaking Indians as “outsiders”, the Diamond Harbour MP accused the BJP-led Centre of systematically attempting to malign Bengal and erase its cultural identity.
“This is not a mere clerical error. It is yet another calculated attempt by the BJP to defame Bengal, undermine our cultural identity, and equate West Bengal with Bangladesh for narrow political propaganda,” Abhishek said on X. Calling the move “a shocking escalation” in the targeting of Bengali-speaking people, Abhishek said terming Bengali as a foreign language a “direct violation” of Article 343 and the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, which recognises Bangla (Bengali) as one of India’s official languages.
“There is no language called ‘Bangladeshi’. To call Bangla a foreign language is not just an insult, it’s an attack on our identity, culture, and belonging. Bengalis are not outsiders in their own homeland,” he added.
Abhishek has labelled the BJP as “Bangla Birodhi” (anti-Bengal) and “Zamindar” (feudal), accusing the party of disrespecting India’s cultural diversity and thriving on divisive politics. “Bangla and Bengalis are Indian. Bangla is our pride. We will not allow our identity to be trampled,” he added.
Meanwhile, calling it an official attempt to strip a constitutionally-recognised language of its identity, Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Sunday slammed Delhi Police for terming Bengali as “Bangladeshi language”, adding that it could be an attempt to portray millions of Bengali-speaking Indians as “outsiders”.