Bengal Chief Secretary Alleges "Harassment" Of Bengali Migrants In Odisha
West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant on Thursday wrote to his Odisha counterpart, urging him to put an end to "harassment" of Bengali-speaking migrant workers in certain parts of the neighbouring state.
Manoj Pant, in the letter, said the migrant workers are "targeted because they speak Bengali, which is their mother tongue" and "unjustly labelled as Bangladeshis".
The labourers include daily-wage earners, rickshaw-pullers and domestic workers.
"We are receiving reports of such individuals being detained without due legal process in regions around Paradip and across coastal districts such as Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Malkangiri, Balasore and Cuttack. What is even more concerning is that, even when these persons produce valid identity documents, their claims are being dismissed," Pant said.
"In many instances, they are being asked to produce ancestral land records, dating back to several generations, an unreasonable and unjustifiable demand for migrant workers," he said.
Attaching an image of Pant's letter, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam wrote on X that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee believes in diversity and strives to maintain harmony in every sense.
"The Odisha authorities refused to accept any centrally issued identity documents like Aadhar and EPIC, and demanded verification from the Bengal government. We promptly provided the required details - verified and furnished by none other than the District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police of various districts. But, even that failed to satisfy them..." Islam said.
"Now, Odisha has no further demands, but still, their police are refusing to release these poor migrant workers, in many cases. They are detaining those migrant workers illegally after 24 hours, without producing them before the court. They probably forgot about our constitutional right that allows us to roam around freely in any place of our country," the TMC leader said.
Tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the post, he said "what specific document do you require to recognise these poor citizens as Indians? What more do you want?" "Some might say they should carry passports. But let me tell you - shockingly, even passports are being rejected by BJP-ruled Delhi government when they detained a few migrant workers from Cooch Behar," Islam said.
"I sincerely urge the Odisha government and the BJP: do not play with fire. If you ignite the politics of hatred, you may end up being consumed by your own flames," he added.
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