Singur migrant’s killing in UP shows BJP’s ‘bloodlust for Bengalis’: TMC

Kolkata: Citing the death of a migrant worker from Singur in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, the Trinamool Congress described the incident as a result of what it called “Bengali hatred” by the BJP and alleged targeted violence against Bengali migrant workers in BJP-ruled states.

In a post on social media, TMC stated: “BJP has developed a shocking bloodlust for Bengalis. A migrant worker from Singur was brutally murdered in Uttar Pradesh for the “crime” of being Bengali. This is what the much-vaunted Yogi Model of law and order amounts to.”

Sheikh Saidullah, a migrant worker from Singur in Hooghly district, was found dead under suspicious circumstances in Uttar Pradesh on January 14. He had been working as a migrant labourer in UP’s Auraiya district, where he had lived for the past 35 years with his wife and daughter. His wife returned to Singur a few days ago. While Saidullah was scheduled to return shortly for SIR-related work, instead, his body was brought back to his ancestral home, reportedly under police escort from Uttar Pradesh.

At Saidullah’s residence in Dewan Bheri, local MLA Karabi Manna expressed anguish: “Saidullah has been killed. The BJP has killed him.”

Condemning what it called attacks on Bengalis in BJP-ruled states, the TMC questioned: “Is speaking Bengali in the ‘Amrit Kaal’ a crime punishable with death?” The party also alleged that the BJP remembers Bengal only ahead of elections, referring to the Prime Minister’s upcoming rally in Singur.