‘Aren’t you ashamed?’: Mamata slams BJP over deportations from West Bengal to Bangladesh for ‘speaking Bengali’
Her comments came in response to an incident in Maharashtra where three migrant workers from West Bengal were apprehended by police on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals and pushed across the border without proper verification
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has strongly criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Maharashtra government for allegedly deporting Indian citizens to Bangladesh just for speaking the Bengali language.
Speaking at the West Bengal Assembly today (16 June), Mamata said, "[They are] being labelled as Bangladeshi for speaking in Bengali. [They are] being sent to Bangladesh. Aren't you ashamed? Despite having identity proofs, the BJP government in Maharashtra has done this just for speaking in Bengali. I condemn them," she said, reports Anandabazar.com.
Her comments came in response to an incident in Maharashtra where three migrant workers from West Bengal were apprehended by police on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals and pushed across the border without proper verification.
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The chief minister alleged that this practice of targeting Bengali-speaking individuals is common in states where the BJP's so-called "double engine" government is in place.
According to the report, the three workers had travelled to Maharashtra for work and were detained by Mumbai police.
They were reportedly sent to Bangladesh via the West Bengal border without informing the Bengal administration.
The matter later came to the attention of the West Bengal Migrant Workers Welfare Board.
Following the intervention of the state administration, the Border Security Force held a flag meeting and brought the three individuals back to India.
Samiraul Islam, the chairman of the Migrant Workers Welfare Board, stated on social media that the three men are in fact Indian citizens from West Bengal—two from Murshidabad and one from Purba Bardhaman.
He said the board became aware of the situation on 10 June and quickly shared the individuals' identity documents with the Mumbai police.
Despite this, the men were reportedly deported without informing the state government or relevant authorities.
Notably, India has recently intensified its efforts to remove suspected foreigners, including Bangladeshi nationals, from the country.
Hundreds have reportedly been pushed across the border into Bangladesh, often without clear verification, contributing to rising tensions between the two countries.
