CPI(M) asks Mamata to send TMC MPs to states where Bengali workers are targeted

Alleging that Bengali-speaking migrant workers from West Bengal are being targeted in other states over their identity, the CPI(M) on Thursday demanded that chief minister Mamata Banerjee send delegations of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs to these states to address the issue.

Addressing a press conference at the party’s state headquarters in Kolkata, CPI(M) West Bengal secretary Mohammed Salim said internal migration within the country is normal for the sake of livelihood. "Bengali-speaking migrant workers are being targeted in several states, including the national capital," he said.

Salim demanded that Banerjee send delegations of TMC MPs to states where Bengali-speaking people are allegedly facing questions over their identity. "Why is the West Bengal chief minister not sending delegations of party MPs to such states?" he asked.

The CPI(M) leader alleged that the RSS-BJP governments in some states and various organisations were persecuting Bengali-speaking migrant workers in different states. "The Constitution provides that it is the duty of the Central government to ensure the safety, healthcare and well-being of all," he said. "Bengali-speaking migrant workers are being branded Bangladeshis or Rohingyas," Salim said.

He alleged that this was an attempt to create divisions among the citizens of the country. Alleging that the West Bengal government's resident commissioner in Delhi had not acted when some migrants from the state were facing coercion recently, the CPI(M) leader said the party's central leaders like Brinda Karat had to rush to help.

The spirit of Bengal is incompatible with the divisive ideology of BJP. The Bangla-Birodhi zamindars have no regard for our people, our language, our culture, or our identity. Blinded by arrogance, they have now started branding legitimate Bengali-speaking Indian citizens as… pic.twitter.com/ulZ0dOZyhm

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) July 16, 2025

Mamata warns BJP of ‘dire political backlash’ if it doesn’t quit harassing Bengali-speaking citizens

On Wednesday, Banerjee addressed a public meeting after leading a protest march against what she described as the "torture" of Bengali-speaking people in BJP-ruled states, and warned the saffron party of dire political consequences if it did not put an immediate stop to such actions.

A day earlier, TMC MP Mahua Moitra accused Chhattisgarh Police of violating the Constitution by "forcing" nine migrant workers from West Bengal to leave the state in central India after releasing them from detention. The workers, reportedly residents of Moitra's Krishnanagar Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal's Nadia district, were earlier arrested in Chhattisgarh's Kondagaon.

Banerjee has been fairly vocal about the purported persecution of Bengali-speaking workers, predominantly Muslims, in various parts of India. On 24 June, she told reporters in her Assembly chamber that she had information that 300-400 Bengali-speaking migrant workers were confined in a building in Rajasthan during the day despite showing valid documents.

She had also pointed out that 1.5 crore migrant workers from different states are employed in different units in Bengal. "But we can never imagine taking such steps which go against the spirit of the pluralism of India. What if such steps are taken against migrants from other states here for speaking their mother tongue? Is speaking Bengali considered sacrilegious by BJP-ruled regimes?" she had asked.

With PTI inputs