Migrants from Bengal being detained in BJP ruled states for speaking in Bengali: CM Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday (June 25, 2025) claimed that citizens of the State speaking in their native Bengali are being branded as Bangladeshis in some BJP-ruled states.

“Is it a crime to speak in Bengali... People of Bangladesh speak in Bengali, which is a different country... Even Indians who have valid documents, but if they are found speaking in Bengali, they are being branded Bangladeshi and being detained... Today also I had got reports that 300 to 400 people from the State are being detained in Rajasthan,” Ms. Banerjee told journalists at her chamber in the West Bengal Assembly.

The Chief Minister said such detentions are being done in BJP ruled states and on some occasions the residents of West Bengal are being “pushed back” in Bangladesh. Ms. Banerjee said that Bengali is a recognised language as per the Constitution of India and the language of Rabindranath Tagore and Swami Vivekananda, among other luminaries. “I think Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not aware of this development. I will draw his attention,” she said.

This is not the first time that the West Bengal Chief Minister has accused the BJP governments in different states for selectively targeting the “Bengali speaking people”. Last week Ms. Banerjee had said on the floor of the House that BJP ruled states were discriminating against residents of the State on account of the people speaking in Bengali.

“Despite having all legal documents. Bengalis are being pushed to Bangladesh. If anyone speaks Bengali, do they become Bangladeshi? This is happening in every state that has double engine governments,” she had said on June 16, 2025.

Earlier this month at least seven migrant workers of the State were allegedly picked up by police in Maharashtra and pushed back to Bangladesh by the Border Security Force (BSF). The migrants were repatriated to the State after the intervention of State government officials.

The Chief Minister said that around 22 lakh migrant workers from Bengal are currently employed in other states whereas about 1.5 crore people from other states are working in West Bengal.

“But we can never imagine taking such steps which goes against the spirit of 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?” Ms. Banerjee asked.

According to reports the migrant workers from West Bengal, which the Chief Minister was referring to are allegedly being detained at Bhiwandi in Rajasthan. Itahar MLA Mosarraf Hossain said that most of the workers who are detained in Rajasthan are from his constituency and he has been getting repeated phone calls from workers. The MLA said that all the workers have furnished documents and details of their identity.