United States Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's two tweets on July 28 and 29 in Bengali, urging people to participate in the American census exercise, have become a huge talking point on the internet.
“The census does NOT ask any questions about immigration or citizenship status. The census is for all the inhabitants of the United States. No one will see your private census data – not your landlord. Neither the ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement],” reads the translated tweet.
“The more of us who meet the census, the more money we get for NYC’s schools, roads, bridges, healthcare, housing, and more. Complete it in less than 10 minutes,” Cortez said in another tweet.
Many have pointed out that the reason for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Bengali tweets is because her district has a huge Bengali-speaking population. The Congresswoman also tweeted in Spanish.
She was urging people to participate in United States Census which takes place once every 10 years. “The census is so much more than just a count. Census information is used to determine New York City’s fair share of billions of dollars in federal funds for public education, affordable housing, infrastructure, and more — as well as the number of seats we have in Congress. Because so much is at stake, it’s critical that New Yorkers stand up and be counted in the 2020 Census," reads NYC census website.
Meanwhile, Twitter users had hilarious reactions to the Congresswoman's tweets. "In solidarity with all Bengali women, this US senator has tweeted something in Bengali that even Bengalis won't understand," a Twitter user wrote. Another Twitter user wrote, "I can only speak Bengali, not read/write, but it's pretty rad to see my own congresswoman send a tweet in it!"
Here are a few Twitter reactions:
