Guwahati, July 19: This time fight being seen between two chief ministers of neighbouring states over speaking languages.
The war of words between Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee intensified on Saturday, with Banerjee accusing the BJP-led Assam government of pursuing a divisive agenda centred around language, identity, and the targeting of Bengali-speaking citizens in the name of eviction and other tools.
The political tension, which had been simmering over the issuance of a Foreigners’ Tribunal notice to a resident of West Bengal’s Cooch Behar district, spilled into the public domain as Banerjee took to social media to denounce the move.
“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. This divisive agenda of the BJP in Assam has crossed all limits and the people of Assam will fight back,” Banerjee wrote.
In a swift and pointed rebuttal, Assam Chief Minister Sarma defended his government’s actions, stating they are part of Assam’s long-standing effort to curb illegal infiltration from neighbouring Bangladesh.
“Didi, let me remind you,” he began in his X post, asserting that his party is not fighting its “own people in the state.” Instead, he accused the West Bengal CM of compromising Bengal’s future and national integrity just to stay in power.
He clarified that his government’s actions are aimed at countering ongoing, unchecked Muslim infiltration from across the border.
Calling it an effort to prevent a demographic shift, Sarma said, "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 further claimed that infiltration is a real concern, not a “political narrative.” "Even the Supreme Court of India has termed such infiltration as external aggression. And yet, when we rise to defend our land, culture, and identity, you choose to politicize it," he said, taking a swipe at Banerjee.
He accused Banerjee of turning a blind eye to cross-border encroachments and of practising appeasement politics.
“While we are acting decisively to preserve Assam’s identity, you, Didi, have compromised Bengal’s future encouraging illegal encroachment by a particular community, appeasing one religious group for vote banks, and remaining silent as border infiltration eats away at national integrity all just to stay in power,” Sarma wrote in a social media post.
He further stated, “No civilisation can survive without protecting its borders.”
Earlier, Banerjee had expressed solidarity with linguistic minorities, pointing out that Bengali is the second-most spoken language in both India and Assam. “I stand with every fearless citizen defending their language, identity, and rights,” she said.
