West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee on Monday launched the 'Bhasha Andolan' (Language Movement) and led a protest march in Bolpur against alleged attacks on Bengali migrants in other states.
Addressing the crowd, Banerjee declared, "I will give up my life, but will not allow anybody to snatch my language."
"You can forget everything, but you should not forget your 'Asmita' (identity), mother tongue, and motherland," she added.
Highlighting that West Bengal houses over 1.5 crore non-Bengali-speaking migrant workers, Banerjee said, "I am not against any language or divisive policy. We want unity in diversity. Have I ever asked Hindi-speaking people to leave Bengal? No. You are also my friends... There are 1.5 crore migrant workers in Bengal, and 22 lakh Bengalis work in other states. This oppression must stop."
Accusing BJP-ruled states of targeting Bengali-speaking workers, she questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi, "Did you ask the Maldives president about his religion when you hugged him and donated Rs 5,000 crore, while depriving Bengal of its dues?"
With assembly elections scheduled in West Bengal next year, linguistic tensions are escalating. The controversy has intensified in Gurugram (NCR), where actions against alleged illegal Bangladeshi migrants have drawn criticism. The TMC claims Bengali speakers in BJP-ruled states are being wrongly labeled as Bangladeshis and forcibly deported.
Banerjee had announced the 'Bhasha Andolan' during the Shaheed Diwas rally on July 21, with statewide protests beginning on July 28.
