.webp)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led a massive protest march in Kolkata on Wednesday, to condemn what she described as systematic harassment of Bengali-speaking people in states governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The rally, which stretched from ‘College Square’ to ‘Dorina Crossing’, saw thousands of Trinamool Congress (TMC) supporters, including senior leaders like Abhishek Banerjee, braving the rain to voice their outrage. In a fiery speech, Banerjee dared the BJP-led central government to send her to a detention camp, asserting her resolve to speak more in Bengali and defend her community's rights.
The protest was sparked by reports of Bengali migrant workers facing alleged discrimination, detentions, and even deportations in BJP-ruled states like Odisha, Assam, Maharashtra, and Delhi. Banerjee accused the central government of issuing a covert directive in February 2025, instructing these states to detain individuals suspected of being Bangladeshi nationals, which she claimed disproportionately targeted Bengalis. "I will speak in Bengali more and more. Hold me in a detention camp if you dare," she declared at the rally’s culmination at Esplanade, emphasising that speaking Bengali does not make someone an illegal immigrant. She further challenged the BJP, stating, "If you detain Bengalis, Bengal will send you to a political detention camp in the polls."
In almost repeat of the 2021 state election poll cry, Mamata Banerjee evoked the ‘Bengali Ashmita’ sentiments while targeting BJP as a party alien to the spirit of Bengal and the culture of the land. Banerjee highlighted the plight of approximately 22 lakh Bengali migrant workers across India, asserting that they possess valid identity documents like Aadhaar and voter ID cards. She accused the BJP of exploiting these workers’ skills while branding them as outsiders when they spoke their mother tongue. "Is West Bengal not part of India? Why this hatred against Bengalis?" she questioned, referencing cultural icons like Rabindranath Tagore and the national anthem Jana Gana Mana to underscore Bengal’s contributions to India’s heritage. “How is speaking in Bengali a crime? People with valid documents are being harassed and some are even deported illegally. If they dare to harm Bengalis then I will take this battle outside Bengal”, she dared.
The protest comes amid escalating tensions, with the TMC alleging that Bengali-speaking residents, even those with valid IDs, have faced eviction drives in Delhi’s Jai Hind Colony and notices from Assam’s foreigners’ tribunals. Banerjee also accused the BJP of manipulating voter lists in states like Bihar and Maharashtra to secure electoral gains, warning that similar attempts in Bengal would face fierce resistance. “They have removed over 30 lakh voters from Bihar. I respect Election Commission but they work like BJP’s broker then I will object. They won in Maharashtra like this. But don’t forget this is Bengal and we will not concede an inch of land without a fight”, she said, blowing the poll bugle for the 2026 polls. The state goes to polls early next year. Mamata Banerjee’s rally came just two days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Durgapur on Friday.
