Mamata criticises ‘Bangladeshi’ label on Bengali-speaking workers
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee on Thursday criticised the alleged tendency in some BJP-ruled states to label Bengali-speaking migrant workers as “Bangladeshi” or “Rohingya”. Speaking at a state government event in New Town, Banerjee said: “Today, if someone speaks Bengali, they are told to be deported. They don’t even know that Bengali is the fifth most spoken language in the world and the second in Asia.”
She pointed to what she termed a contradiction in the Centre’s approach: “On one hand, Bengali-speaking labourers are being insulted as Rohingya or Bangladeshi and on the other, some people are being given political asylum.
I have never questioned that move, as India has diplomatic and political compulsions. But how can someone be branded Bangladeshi just because they speak Bengali?”
Referring to the 1971 Indira-Mujib agreement, Banerjee stated that those who migrated from Bangladesh before 1971 are Indian citizens and should not be misidentified. “History must not be forgotten. People from Bengal who work outside the state are skilled labourers. They are valued for their work, not accepted out of pity,” she said.
Banerjee said humanity should be the primary identity, not religion or surname. “Let this humane soul not become monstrous,” she added.
The Chief Minister also inaugurated several infrastructure projects in New Town. These include ‘Susampanna’, an eight-storey multi-level car parking complex near Biswa Bangla Convention Centre, with capacity for around 1,500 cars and constructed at a cost of Rs 135 crore.
She also inaugurated two housing projects—‘Nijanna’ (EWS) and ‘Sujanna’ (LIG)—comprising 490 one-bedroom and 720 two-bedroom flats respectively, on seven acres of government land.
Additionally, Banerjee unveiled ‘Taranna’, a two-storey cafeteria with a 200-seat open-air stage, children’s park, and landscaped garden. She also virtually inaugurated a bridge over the Jarda river in Jalpaiguri and a new footbridge and access road to the Jalpesh Temple.
