Kolkata: The political war of words between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) intensified on Saturday over allegations of mistreatment and persecution of Bengali-speaking individuals from West Bengal in several BJP-governed states.
The BJP accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of putting national security at risk in pursuit of vote-bank politics.
In retaliation, the TMC claimed that the BJP is targeting Bengali citizens and asserted that no one could deport them as long as Mamata Banerjee remains Chief Minister.
This exchange followed reports from Gurugram, where local police allegedly detained 10 undocumented Bangladeshi nationals. Gurugram Police PRO Sandeep Kumar stated that Bangladeshi identification papers were found in their possession and that deportation procedures have been initiated.
The head of the BJP’s National IT cell Amit Malviya in a post on X, said, “Mamata Banerjee will now shed copious tears for illegal Bangladeshis, claiming they "speak Bangla” and should be treated as her guests. This isn’t compassion, it is the worst kind of perversion, where language is weaponised to justify illegality,” TNIE reported.
He went on to allege that Banerjee was jeopardising India’s national security in pursuit of vote-bank politics.
“The Chief Minister of Bengal is openly compromising India’s national security, all for her petty vote-bank politics. When appeasement takes priority over national interest, the nation pays the price,” the post added.
In response, the Trinamool Congress pushed back on Facebook, citing the case of Nishikanta Das from Cooch Behar in North Bengal. The party noted that despite Das submitting multiple forms of identification—including land ownership records, a voter ID, and an Aadhaar card—he was still labelled a foreigner by Assam’s Foreigners Tribunal. According to the TMC, this highlights the BJP’s deliberate targeting of Bengali citizens. They reiterated that under Mamata Banerjee’s leadership, no genuine Bengali citizen would be deported.