A war of words broke out between West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and her Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday, as she alleged that the BJP-led government in the Northeastern state was “threatening” Bengali-speaking people, inviting a sharp retort accusing her of indulging in “appeasement” politics.
The slugfest between the CMs of two neighbouring states comes as the TMC is raising its pitch on the alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking people in BJP-ruled states, setting the tone for its campaign ahead of next year’s assembly elections in West Bengal.
Notably, elections in Assam will also be held at the same time, and the BJP-led ruling alliance is looking to form a government for the third successive term by projecting itself as the “saviour” of the indigenous people against illegal Bengali-speaking Muslim migrants.
“The second most spoken language in the country, Bangla, is also the second most spoken language of Assam. To threaten citizens, who want to coexist peacefully, respecting all languages and religions, with persecution for upholding their own mother tongue is discriminatory and unconstitutional,” Banerjee posted on X.
“This divisive agenda of the BJP in Assam has crossed all limits, and people of Assam will fight back. I stand with every fearless citizen who is fighting for the dignity of their language and identity, and their democratic rights,” she said.
Banerjee’s TMC has a unit in Assam with several former Congress members, including MP Sushmita Dev, leading it.
Hitting back, Sarma said, “Didi, let me remind you — In Assam, we are not fighting our own people. We are fearlessly resisting the ongoing, unchecked Muslim infiltration from across the border, which has already caused an alarming demographic shift. In several districts, Hindus are now on the verge of becoming a minority in their own land.”
He claimed that this is not a political narrative, but a reality, with the Supreme Court terming such infiltration as external aggression.
“We do not divide people by language or religion. Assamese, Bangla, Bodo, Hindi—all languages and communities have coexisted here. But no civilisation can survive if it refuses to protect its borders and its cultural foundation,” he said.
Sarma claimed that while his government was acting decisively to preserve Assam’s identity, Banerjee has “compromised Bengal’s future” by encouraging “illegal encroachment by a particular community, appeasing one religious community for vote banks, and remaining silent as border infiltration eats away at national integrity — all just to stay in power”.
He asserted that Assam will continue to fight to preserve its heritage, its dignity, and its people.
Sarma had alleged on Thursday that Banerjee was only concerned about Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Banerjee led a protest march in Kolkata on Wednesday over the alleged targeting of Bengali-speaking people in other states, and has accused the BJP-led governments in those states of branding Bengalis as “illegal Bangladeshis” or “Rohingyas”. (PTI)
