BJP branding Bengali-speaking Indian citizens as Bangladeshi: Mamata
Kolkata: Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday accused the BJP of targeting Bengali-speaking citizens in states ruled by the saffron party by branding even those with valid documents as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.
“This trend is being noticed in those states that are ruled by the double engine (BJP) government. If someone speaks Bengali, they are branded Bangladeshi—even if they have valid documents like Aadhaar, PAN and Voter ID cards. Many are being deported just because they speak Bengali. Is speaking Bengali now a crime?” she questioned.
Banerjee claimed that such attacks on Bengalis were an insult to Bengal and its people. “You should be ashamed. Labelling people Bangladeshi just because of their language is nothing short of harassment,” she maintained.
“One should feel proud to speak Bengali, as well as Gujarati, Marathi and Hindi. If you ask me, I can speak in all these languages,” she said.
It may be noted that recently three migrant workers from Bengal were detained by Mumbai Police under the suspicion of Bangladeshi.
They were allegedly sent to Bangladesh through the borders keeping the state in the dark.
Later when the matter came before the notice of the Migrant Workers Welfare Board, the assistance of the state administration was taken and the three were brought back to Bengal through flag meeting in the borders.
The chairman of the Board Samirul Islam informed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee about the entire matter.
Banerjee also launched a scathing attack on the Centre accusing it of deliberately withholding funds from the state due to political reasons.
“This is not just administrative discrimination, it’s political. The Centre has clearly decided not to give any money to Bengal. That is their political decision,” Banerjee said.
She claimed that the Centre has not released a single rupee to Bengal in the past four years under schemes like MGNREGA, PM Awas Yojana and rural road development.
“Our rightful funds have been diverted to other states. This is not just unfair — it’s a crime,” she said.
“On one hand you deprive the poor people of Bengal, while on the other, the procession of deaths in various mishaps continues in your states,” she said.
Banerjee added that over 155 Central teams were sent to Bengal and all the documentation as per demand has been submitted. Even after submitting all the necessary information, we haven’t received a penny.
“Complaints were received from other states, such as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat as well. Why weren’t Central teams sent there as frequently?” she questioned.
Banerjee stated that workers denied their wages by the Centre have now been compensated with state funds.
According to her, the Bengal government has created over 1.5 crore person-days under the rural employment scheme using its own resources. “Earlier, people used to get 37–38 days of work a year. We are now providing at least 50 days. The number will go up. Being poor is not a crime. Being born into poverty is not a sin,” she said.
Pradip Majumdar, state Panchayats and Rural Development (P&RD) department substantiated the allegations made by Banerjee by presenting monetary statistics on the deliberate deprivation of Bengal.
According to Majumdar, in the last 4 years (2021-22 to 2024-25 ), Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra have received Rs 38738 crore, Rs 24494 crore and Rs 12028 crore under MGNREGA.
Financial misappropriation according to the Central database have been Rs 48.38 crore, Rs 17.76 crore and Rs 15.20 crore respectively for these states. During this period, Bengal has not received a single penny with the total dues being Rs 6919.76 crore.
However, in the case of Bengal, the misappropriation found by the Centre in six years from 2016-17 to 2021-22 has been only Rs 9.20 crore against receipt of Rs 50593 crore.
