Mamata accuses BJP of targeting Bengalis across India; says ‘22 lakh migrants have valid IDs, not Rohingyas’; dares saffron party with ‘detain me if you can’ at Kolkata rally

NEW DELHI: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday launched a sharp attack against the BJP at a protest rally in Kolkata, accusing the party of targeting Bengali-speaking people across BJP-ruled states.“I am ashamed, disheartened at BJP’s attitude towards Bengalis,” Mamata said while addressing the massive protest. She declared, “I have decided to speak more in Bangla from now on, hold me in detention camps if you can.”Taking on allegations linking Bengali migrants to illegal immigration, Mamata said, “I challenge you to prove that Bengali-speaking migrants are Rohingya Muslims.”The chief minister claimed that 22 lakh migrant workers from Bengal are working across different states and have valid identity documents.

“22 lakh migrant workers from Bengal working in other parts of country, they have valid identity documents,” she said.Alleging manipulation of voter lists, Mamata claimed, “BJP won in Maharashtra by removing names from electoral rolls, it is doing same in Bihar now.” She warned, “BJP has plans to remove names from Bengal’s electoral rolls, we will fight them inch by inch.”“If BJP sends Bengali-speaking people to detention camps, Bengal will politically detain it in polls,” Mamata added.

She further said, “I will challenge central govt notices sent to BJP-ruled states surreptitiously to harass Bengali-speaking people.”Wednesday’s rally, attended by TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee and senior leaders, was called to protest alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking people outside Bengal. The Trinamool Congress said the BJP’s “assault on Bengali identity is no longer covert, it’s brutal, deliberate, and fuelled by hate.”