‘They are not Bangladeshis’: Mamata says Bengal migrants wrongfully held; slams BJP | India News

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee (ANI picture)

NEW DELHI: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee alleged on Tuesday that Bengali migrant staff talking their native language outdoors the state have been being “labelled as Bangladeshis and sent to Bangladesh”.Accusing the BJP of “playing politics over language”, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief mentioned many such circumstances come to her discover and that her authorities has introduced the employees despatched to Bangladesh again.“People from every section live in our country. This is India’s secular tradition… but the BJP is doing politics based on language… The migrant workers from Bengal are taken to other states for work because of their skills, but when they speak in the Bengali language among themselves, they are labelled as Bangladeshis and sent to Bangladesh. Many such cases have come to us, and we have brought them back (from Bangladesh),” the West Bengal CM was quoted as saying by information company ANI. She futher mentioned: “Another such case has come from Rajasthan, where 300 to 400 people have been labelled as Bangladeshis. What is happening? They are not Bangladeshis, they have their own identity, they are residents of West Bengal, and West Bengal is a state of India.”Centre steps up crackdown on unlawful BangladeshisLast month, as many as 121 suspected Bangladeshi nationals have been apprehended in every week and despatched to a detention centre in a contemporary, widespread crackdown to curb unlawful immigration. The 121 had allegedly crossed the border illegally a couple of years in the past and have been working as ragpickers or doing odd jobs in Delhi.During the investigation, police additionally detained 5 Indians who supplied the suspected Bangladeshis lodging on lease. These individuals have been questioned to find out their position in facilitating the unlawful keep of the foreigners.Last week, thirty-six individuals, believed to be Bangladeshis residing in Delhi illegally with no journey paperwork, have been held in Bharat Nagar within the north-west of the town. The Delhi police mentioned cell phones that contained banned messaging apps, which allowed them to speak with family members in Bangladesh, have been discovered on them.Centre vs state over unlawful BangladeshisIn January this 12 months, Mamata Banerjee had accused BSF of permitting unlawful border-crossing by Bangladeshis into the state as a part of a “central government blueprint”, alleging the infiltration was politically motivated to discredit her authorities. “The border is not guarded by TMC or police; it is guarded by BSF,” she mentioned. “They are facilitating infiltration, allowing criminals to cross the border, commit murders, and escape. I will write a strong letter to Centre about this issue.” In response, BSF expressed disappointment over the allegations however shunned escalating the matter. “We are a responsible force performing our duty at the border. Statements like these dent our morale,” mentioned Nilotpal Kumar Pandey, spokesperson for BSF’s South Bengal Frontier.Later in March, Union dwelling minister Amit Shah, whereas replying within the Lok Sabha on the Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, accused the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal authorities of obstructing border safety efforts by not offering land for fencing and exhibiting mercy to infiltrators. He mentioned, “The fencing work of 450 km is pending because the West Bengal government is not giving land for it… Whenever the process of fencing is done, the ruling party workers indulge in hooliganism and religious sloganeering. The fencing work of 450 km of border has not been completed because the West Bengal government is showing mercy to the infiltrators.”