Kolkata, Aug 28 (PTI) The West Bengal Assembly will hold a three-day special session from September 1, with the ruling TMC set to move a censure motion on alleged attacks on Bengali-speaking migrant workers in BJP-ruled states, an issue it seeks to turn into a political flashpoint before the 2026 polls.
The session will be held on September 1, 2 and 4, as September 3 is a state holiday on account of Karam Puja, assembly officials said on Thursday.
“It will be a very short session starting from September 1, just for three days. A motion on the attacks on Bengali migrants is likely to be moved,” West Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee told PTI.
According to TMC legislative party sources, the government will table a resolution condemning what it calls systematic harassment of Bengalis outside the state.
The party has alleged that migrant labourers from Bengal are being branded as “Bangladeshis” merely for speaking in their mother tongue, subjected to mental and physical assaults, and in some cases, even “forced pushbacks” across the border.
“This assembly will send out a strong message that Bengalis cannot be treated as outsiders in their own country. We want this House to pass a unanimous resolution condemning such acts,” a senior TMC functionary said.
Apart from the “Bengali harassment” issue, the session is likely to take up the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
The ruling party has accused the EC of “selectively” targeting names for deletion, and has been staging demonstrations in Delhi against the process.
According to TMC chief whip Nirmal Ghosh, there is a possibility that a “motion” to condemn the prospective SIR will also be moved.
“We will ensure to register our protest from the floor of the House to condemn Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which has led to the omission of so many legitimate voters in Bihar, and a similar exercise is being planned here in Bengal,” he said.
The session is expected to witness sharp exchanges between the Treasury and Opposition benches, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari slated to take the floor.
Political observers feel that the proceedings could set the tone for an escalating political battle both inside and outside the House in the run-up to the festival season.
The issue of migrants’ safety has been a rallying point for the TMC in recent weeks.
Banerjee has held street protests across districts, accusing the BJP of unleashing “linguistic terror” against Bengalis, while the government has rolled out the “Shramashree” scheme promising financial aid of Rs 5,000 per month for a year to distressed workers returning to the state.
Another possible flashpoint is the governor’s decision to return without assent the ‘Aparajita Bill’, a legislation passed by the assembly providing for the death penalty in certain cases of rape.
The TMC is expected to rake up the matter, accusing the Raj Bhavan of sitting on people-centric legislation.
Despite being a truncated, three-day sitting, the session is being billed as politically significant, with both sides looking to use the floor of the House as a stage for their larger electoral battle. PTI PNT BDC
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