'Autocracy is going on in the country...’: Mamata confers Banga Bibhushan on BJP Rajya Sabha MP Anant Maharaj

Kolkata: In a development that sparked a political chatter, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Anant Maharaj — who had been keeping a measured distance from his party for some time — was among the distinguished personalities conferred the Banga Bibhushan, West Bengal’s highest civilian honour, by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at a programme held in Kolkata on Saturday to mark International Mother Language Day.

The move is being seen in political circles as a strategic gesture by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government ahead of the crucial Assembly elections in the state.

Many observers interpret the honour as an outreach to the Rajbanshi community, a Scheduled Caste group concentrated in North Bengal districts such as Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, Malda and Murshidabad.

In North Bengal, the community constitutes around 30 per cent of the electorate and is regarded as a significant swing factor in the region’s electoral dynamics.

Anant Maharaj had earlier spoken out against the BJP over the SIR issue. During Saturday’s programme, Mamata Banerjee invited him to say a few words in the Rajbanshi language. Reciting a poem he had written in his childhood, Maharaj thanked the Chief Minister for the state honour and went on to criticise his own party, stating that the BJP had done nothing for Cooch Behar.

“I am very grateful for this honour. It’s International Mother Language Day, and I have been given this award for the Rajbanshi Community,” he added, leaving the event after 15 minutes to catch a flight.

While emphasising that languages are equally valuable and must be protected from any kind of attack, Banerjee took on the BJP-led Centre for “insulting” the Bengali language. She said that the saffron party was branding those speaking in Bengali as Bangladeshis.

“Autocracy is going on in the country. Those who are speaking in Bengali are being termed as Bangladeshis. They (BJP) are deliberately trying to capture Bengal by bulldozing its people. It will not work here,” Banerjee said in her address.

She also extended greetings to the people on the occasion of International Mother Language Day. Paying tribute to those who lost their lives during various language movements, the Chief Minister stated that her government honours linguistic diversity and has granted official recognition to several languages, including Santhali, Kurukh, Kurmali, Nepali, Urdu, Rajbanshi, Kamtapuri, Punjabi and Telugu.

Banerjee’s message, according to the political observers, is particularly significant against the backdrop of reports that Bengali-speaking people—mainly migrant workers from Bengal—are allegedly being attacked outside the state on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals. She also reminded that Bengali is not only a language with a rich literary heritage but also part of a broader commitment to respecting all linguistic communities. “Banga Bibhushan” was also conferred on Ganesh Halui, Shibaji Chattopadhyay, Sriradha Bandopadhyay, Nachiketa Chakraborty, Lopamudra Mitra, Babul Supriyo, Iman Chakraborty and Srijata Bandopadhyay.

“Banga Bhusan” recipients were Kalendranath Mandi, Shyamchand Bagdi, Nandalal Bauri, Mrinal Kanti Biswas, Chandan Lomjel, Najmul Haque, Manomoy Bhattacharya, Raghab Chattopadhyay, Rupankar Bagchi, Kartik Das Baul, Aditi Munshi, Samaresh Chowdhury, Vivek Kumar, Paramabrata Chattopadhyay, Star Jalsha (Sumanta Basu) and Zee Bangla (Nabanita Chakraborty).