Kolkata, July 23: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday criticised a move by Haryana Police to seek verification of migrant workers from the state, calling it a politically motivated attempt to target Bengali-speaking citizens in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states.
Addressing a press conference at the state secretariat, Banerjee said that a letter had been sent by Haryana authorities to district magistrates and police superintendents in West Bengal requesting verification of 52 migrant workers residing in Gurugram.
“This is nothing but harassment of Bengalis and a form of linguistic terrorism,” Banerjee said, referring to growing concerns that migrant workers from the state are being detained in several states under suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals.
The chief minister’s remarks came a day after she announced a “language movement” at her party’s annual Martyrs’ Day rally in Kolkata, accusing the BJP of attempting to marginalise Bengali speakers in states under its control.
Banerjee also cited the case of a West Bengal resident, Anjali Seal, who reportedly received a notice from a Foreigners Tribunal in Assam, and warned that such actions threaten the unity of the country.
“If you think you can run the country like this, it will be divided. We want the country to remain united and strong,” she said, adding that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma should refrain from interfering in West Bengal’s affairs.
The Trinamool Congress chief alleged that the BJP was attempting to manipulate voter rolls ahead of upcoming elections. “If they think they can delete names and win Bengal like they did in Delhi or Maharashtra, they are mistaken,” she said.
In a separate announcement, Banerjee launched a new government initiative titled “Amader Para, Amader Samadhan” (Our Locality, Our Solution), aimed at bringing administration closer to the people. Under the scheme, officials will visit every locality to address residents’ concerns.
Each unit under the programme will cover three polling booths, with the outreach set to begin on August 2 and last approximately two months. The government plans to allocate ₹10 lakh per booth, amounting to a total expenditure of over ₹8,000 crore. The initiative follows the state’s earlier Duare Sarkar (Government at the Doorstep) programme launched in December 2020.
