Latest news with #WestBengalMigrantWelfareBoard
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Trinamool Congress MP refutes Haryana CM charge against Bengal CM on migrant workers
Refuting allegations made by Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini who accused his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee of compromising with the security of the country for vote bank politics, Trinamool Congress MP and chairperson of West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board Samirul Islam on Saturday said that a witch-hunt is going on against migrants in the name of 'Bangladeshis'. In a social media post, the Haryana Chief Minister said there is no place for Bangladeshis in the country, and the sympathy shown by the West Bengal Chief Minister towards those who are compromising national interests is not only unfortunate but against national interest. 'From day one, we have said that there is no issue if the administration takes action against genuine infiltrators. But in the name of a witch-hunt against 'Bangladeshis', BJP-ruled states — including yours — have been unlawfully detaining our brothers and sisters who are working there. We strongly protest against the atrocities being committed against Bengali-speaking Indian citizens, and it is unfortunate that people like you are trying to falsely blame us,' Mr. Islam said. The Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP said it was unfortunate to see Mr. Saini criticising Ms. Banerjee in such an illogical manner — 'especially when you yourself are responsible for the brutalisation of Bengali-speaking migrant workers from West Bengal by unlawfully harassing them'. The MP further raised several questions to the Haryana Chief Minister such as whether it is illegal for someone to travel from one Indian State to another to work and if not, then why is the Haryana Police force harassing those who went to work from West Bengal. Mr. Islam also asked if Bengali is spoken only by Bangladeshis and has he ever heard the name of Rabindranath Tagore, who was a Bengali and composed the national anthem. A few days ago, West Bengal CM Ms. Banerjee and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had engaged in a war of words on social media on the topic of migrant workers. In another post, the chairperson of the State migrant welfare board added that hundreds of Bengali-speaking migrant workers working in different States have been unlawfully detained and harassed by BJP-ruled State governments like in Odisha, Maharashtra, and Delhi and many of them have even been deported to Bangladesh. Mr. Islam said that he had asked a question about the number of migrants working in other States, which was not provided by the Union government.
The Hindu
19-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Family from Birbhum deported to Bangladesh, says West Bengal migrant board Chief
A woman from Murarai in West Bengal's Birbhum district has claimed that she and five of her family members were picked up from the Rohini area in Delhi and forcibly deported to Bangladesh. In her video message, shared by Chairperson of the West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board and Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam on Saturday (July 19, 2025), Sweety Bibi appealed to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to help her return to India. 'We were arrested in Delhi, where we had gone to work. We showed our Aadhaar card and pleaded that we were not Bangladeshis, but the police threatened us. They said they will make us Bangladeshis,' Ms. Bibi is heard saying in the video. 'She is a permanent resident of the Murarai Assembly constituency and her family has lived there for generations. But no, she isn't speaking from her ancestral home. She is now in Bangladesh, where she and five others, including three minors, were deported by the Delhi Police,' Mr. Islam said on social media. Referring to remarks made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Durgapur on Friday, when he spoke about 'Bengali asmita [pride]' being paramount to the BJP, the Rajya Sabha MP said, '@narendramodi, you came to Bengal and spoke extensively about infiltration. Let me introduce you to a woman named Sweety Biwi, an Indian citizen from Birbhum — the land of Rabindranath Tagore. In the video, she shares the painful ordeal she's going through.' 'What a tragedy! Despite being Indian citizens, their only 'crime' was speaking Bengali in BJP-ruled Delhi, where they had lived for years,' Mr. Islam said. Sonali Khatun, who is eight months pregnant, is among the group deported to Bangladesh. She has been wandering helplessly in Bangladesh, Mr. Islam said, adding is not the first time residents of West Bengal are being pushed into Bangladesh by security agencies. There have been reports of around half a dozen migrant workers from West Bengal being arrested in different parts of the country and pushed into Bangladesh, and later repatriated to India. Along with the 'push back', there have been reports of detention of migrants in different States like Odisha and Delhi on suspicion of being Bangladesh nationals. Among those detained were members of the Matua community, which comprises Hindu Namasudras who had migrated from Bangladesh. Mr. Islam on Friday (July 18, 2025) had shared a video of Nishikanta Biswas, a resident of Ranaghat in Nadia district hailing from the Matua community, who had said that his sons Manishankar and Nayan were languishing in police custody for the past six months in Maharashtra, where they travelled to find work. The detention of Matua members is significant as the Citizenship (Amendment) Act passed in 2019 and Rules framed in 2024 had granted citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.
The Hindu
18-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Six migrant workers from Bengal arrested in Punjab under cow slaughter law
More reports of arrest and detention of migrant workers from West Bengal have emerged from different parts of the country, with the latest incident involving the arrest of six workers from Malda district in Punjab. The migrant workers - identified as Mukhtar Ali, Minjar Ali, Zakir Hossain, Rayhan Alam, Kurban Ali, and Azam - were reportedly arrested from Chanchal in Malda by the Phagwara Police Station in Kapurthala on the basis of an FIR dated July 2. The charges include offences under the Punjab Prohibition of Cow Slaughter Act, 1955. The arrests in an Opposition-ruled State come at a time when there are mounting reports of migrant workers from West Bengal being detained or harassed in several BJP-ruled States, including Maharashtra, Delhi, Odisha, and Rajasthan. Family members of the six detained workers claimed that they had travelled to Punjab for employment in poultry units and were 'wrongly arrested' under cow slaughter charges. In a letter addressed to Samirul Islam, Chairperson of the West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board, a Labour Commissioner from Malda highlighted that the six migrant workers are currently lodged in Kapurthala Central Jail. 'They do not have the means to fight the case in the court. If arrangements can be made for their release, it would be greatly appreciated. They may be provided necessary legal assistance through SLSA Punjab or DLSA of that district for appropriate relief of these six migrant workers,' the letter said. Mr. Islam, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP, said the Board has arranged legal representation for the workers and expressed hope that they would be released soon. He further clarified that the situation in Punjab is not comparable to that in BJP-ruled States, where migrant workers are allegedly being harassed on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals.
