Siliguri (West Bengal) [India], July 19 (ANI): The All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) affiliated workers union, the Indian National Trinamool Trade Union Congress (INTTUC) on Friday staged a protest march against the National Register of Citizens(NRC) in Siliguri, condemning the alleged harassment and pushback of migrant Bengali-speaking individuals from several BJP-ruled states.
The union has said that the Bengali-speaking migrants have been incorrectly labelled as “Bangladeshis.”
Party workers held placards and shouted slogans against what they called a systematic targeting of Bengali migrants under the guise of identifying illegal immigrants, according to a statement from the union.
INTTUC leader Nirjal Dey said, “Bengalis have made the biggest sacrifices for the country. Today, this is a question of the existence of Bengalis. Today, Bengali-speaking individuals are being sent to detention camps. We are residents of Bengal and speak Bengali. We are proud of it. In Bengal, members of all sections of society live in harmony…But in Odisha, 400 Bengalis have been sent to detention camps. Their nationality is being questioned. Their only crime is that they speak Bengali; they are being branded as foreigners. This is the biggest issue…Arrest Rohingyas, but why will you arrest Bengali-speaking Indians? That is our question…”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday at a Bharatiya Janata Party rally in Durgapur district that the Trinamool Congress government has put the identity of Bengal at stake by “encouraging infiltration” in the state,
PM Modi said a “whole ecosystem” for supporting illegal immigrants has been made in Bengal.
“For their own benefit, the TMC government has put the identity of West Bengal at stake. Infiltration is being encouraged in the state. Fake documents are being made for the infiltrators. A whole ecosystem has been made. This is a big threat to West Bengal and the country, a threat to Bangla culture,” the Prime Minister noted.
He also accused the Mamata government of “crossing all limits” in appeasement politics.
“In the politics of appeasement, TMC is crossing all limits. A new drive has started too in favour of infiltrators. This is a challenge to Constitutional values. TMC is openly favouring them. But I tell the land of Durgapur clearly that whoever is not a citizen of India, who has come here by infiltrating, there will be constant action against them,” PM Modi said in a fiery address.
Earlier on July 16, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attacked the BJP and the various state governments led by the party for discriminating against Bengali-speaking citizens.
In a fiery speech, she alleged that people were being harassed based on language, identity, and political bias. She recalled the recent incidents and alleged that people from Bengal were being harassed in states like Maharashtra and Assam. (ANI)
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