Kolkata, Jul 17 (PTI) Amid reports of detention and harassment of Bengali-speaking migrant workers in several BJP-ruled states, prominent personalities from West Bengal on Thursday strongly condemned the incidents and urged the states to take immediate corrective measures.
Speaking to PTI, Actor Riddhi Sen termed the incidents “unfortunate” and urged all political parties in Bengal to show solidarity.
“Every political party from the state must think about the harassment of poor migrant labourers, who went out in search of livelihood and possess valid documents,” Sen said.
Echoing Sen, actor Ushashi Chakraborty said if someone from our state, who has shifted elsewhere for bread and butter, is harassed or punished just for speaking in Bengali, it is the most shocking and unfortunate thing.
“All political parties should unite in voicing protest against such discrimination towards Bengalis,” she said.
Veteran actor Mamata Shankar also weighed in, stressing that no one should face abuse for speaking their mother tongue.
“There should not be any physical assault, use of abusive words or wrangling for speaking in one’s native language. What is happening is deeply unfortunate,” she said.
She added, “When conversing with people unfamiliar with Bengali, I switch to Hindi or English out of courtesy. But I always try to speak in Bengali when possible — I feel most comfortable in my mother tongue.” However, actor and BJP cultural cell head Rudranil Ghosh took a sharply different stance, placing the blame on the ruling TMC.
“The CM and her party are responsible for the high number of fake voters, who illegally crossed over from Bangladesh and were issued Aadhaar and voter ID cards,” Ghosh claimed.
“Now, these people are being tracked in other states. A smaller number of genuine Bengali-speaking migrants from West Bengal are also being caught up in this, and facing harassment. They are victims of the TMC’s hands-off approach to infiltration,” he said.
“Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s divisive politics is against national security and sovereignty,” he said.
Ghosh also termed as contempt of court the TMC’s protest against illegal settlers from Bangladesh in Delhi, after the administration cut off power and water supply links to a colony, which came up allegedly in an unauthorised manner.
Banerjee led a protest march in Kolkata on Wednesday, condemning the alleged persecution of Bengali-speaking migrants in BJP-governed states.
“I am ashamed and disheartened by the Centre and the BJP’s attitude towards Bengalis,” Banerjee said, accusing the saffron party of branding migrants as Rohingya Muslims or Bangladeshi infiltrators simply for speaking Bengali.
Asserting that there are nearly 22 lakh migrant workers from West Bengal working in different parts of the country, who have valid identity documents like Aadhaar and PAN cards, Banerjee said she would not tolerate any disrespect meted out to them on flimsy grounds.
The chief minister claimed that the state has already compiled a list of about 1,000 migrant workers from the state, who were detained or thrown in lock-ups and detention camps in various states for “speaking in their mother tongue”. PTI SUS MNB
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.