Mamata Banerjee leads massive Kolkata march against harassment of Bengali migrants

Thousands joined the march on July 16, headed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and senior Trinamool Congress leaders, including Abhishek Banerjee.

The demonstration aimed to spotlight the alleged wrongful detention and deportation of Bengali-speaking migrants labelled as “Bangladeshis” in Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states like Odisha, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Delhi.

Mamata, addressing the crowd in Bengali, challenged the Centre and BJP-run states, daring them to “put me in a detention camp,” and also urged everyone to speak Bengali publicly.

The TMC highlighted that around 22 lakh Bengali migrant workers legally reside in other states with valid documents (e.g., Aadhaar, EPIC), yet face harassment solely for speaking their mother tongue.

Recent incidents include detention of 444 Bengalis in Odisha’s Jharsuguda, wrongful arrests of the Matua community in Pune, and plans to deport a family from Delhi—all sparking statewide outrage.

Security was tight: around 1,500 police personnel guarded the 3 km protest route, diverting traffic between College Square and Dorina Crossing.

The protest, timed a day before Prime Minister Modi’s West Bengal visit, also signals early momentum in the run-up to the 2026 Assembly elections, as TMC revives emotive “Bangla asmita” (Bengali pride) to path political counter—touching upon identity and governance concerns.

TMC leaders, including Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya and MP Samirul Islam, condemned the targeting of Bengali speakers as hate-driven profiling.

Bhattacharya described restrictions on basic services—like electricity and water—as unconstitutional, while Islam noted the Matua community’s wrongful arrests despite valid ID proofs.

The BJP, meanwhile, accused TMC of staging a political stunt. BJP MP Sukanta Majumdar claimed the rally was aimed at dividing Hindu votes via language.

Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari countered that the protest masked TMC’s protection of undocumented migrants.