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Mamata Banerjee targets BJP as 52 Bengali migrant workers detained in Gurugram
The Gurugram police said the administration was strictly following the MHA guidelines to zero-in on suspected illegal immigrants, especially those from Bangladesh
Kolkata / Gurugram: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday after Haryana’s Gurugram administration detained 52 Bengali migrant workers on the suspicion that they were illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and sought reports on their background from her administration.
“Today, a notice from Gurgaon reached the district magistrates and police superintendents of Malda, South Dinajpur, North Dinajpur, Nadia, Murshidabad, Cooch Behar and North 24 Parganas. The Gurugram administration has detained 52 people from these districts and has asked our DMs and SPs to verify their backgrounds and send reports,” Banerjee told the media at Nabanna, the state secretariat.
“They are selecting some specific districts now. I am asking everybody not to panic. It is our duty to protect citizens. If BJP thinks this is how it can delete the names of voters and win elections, as it did in Delhi and Maharashtra, then it is making a big mistake,” Banerjee said, hinting at the state’s 30% Muslim population that can play a decisive role in at least 120 of Bengal’s 294 assembly seats in the 2026 state polls.
According to the last 2011 census, the 66.28 % Muslim population in Murshidabad district is the state’s highest, followed by Malda (51.27%) and North Dinajpur (49.92%).
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson lashed out at the Centre and BJP a day after announcing at her party’s annual rally that a year-long “Bhasa Andolan” (language movement) would be launched on July 27 protesting detention of Bengali-speaking people in BJP-ruled states.
Several of these people were deported to Bangladesh by the Border Security Force (BSF) in June although they had Aadhaar and PAN cards. The West Bengal police brought a few of them back by providing documents verifying their Indian identity.
“Any Indian citizen can go to any part of the country and work there. This is their right. They are hired for their skills. So many people from other states work here. They don’t face any problem. Will it look good if we start inquiries against them? These illegal detentions are an insult to our mother tongue and ashmita (identity). This will be challenged in the proper time. Wait and see,” said Banerjee.
“Speaking Bengal is being treated as a crime. I don’t think speaking any other language is a crime. If we don’t object to other languages, why are you torturing people who speak our language? The nation will collapse if this continues,” she said.
Referring to the deportation of some alleged illegal immigrants to Gujarat by the US government, she said, “Those people were sent back in chains. Isn’t that an insult?”
“You are not arresting the Pahalgam terrorists. You have done nothing to restore normalcy in Manipur. The same chief minister who is in charge of the north-east failed in Manipur,” Banerjee said, targeting Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma who was made the convenor of the BJP-led North-East Development Alliance in 2016.
“A scheduled caste citizen from Falakata in Alipurduar district received a notice from the Assam government on July 19. It inquired about her citizenship. How can Assam interfere in Bengal’s affairs? Assam is crossing its limits. I ask BJP’s double engine sarkar there to mind its own business. You have kept people in detention camps. deleted the names of citizens (during NRC implementation) and demolished a Kali temple recently,” said Banerjee.
In an indirect message to the BJP, she said: “You should manage your home first. If your home is in trouble then you can’t manage anything. Gandhi was born in Gujarat but he loved Bengal. When India became free at midnight Gandhi was in Kolkata’s Beliaghata to stop communal riots. A nation’s leader is the one who loves the nation and its people.”
The Gurugram police said they followed every guideline set by the Ministry of home affairs.
Dr Arpit Jain, DCP (Headquarters) Gurugram, said the administration was strictly following the MHA guidelines to zero-in on suspected illegal immigrants especially those from Bangladesh.
“We are sending the details of every suspected element to the home secretary, district magistrate or deputy commissioner of the state concerned for verification. When a report is negative, we take steps to get the person deported with help from the central government. When a verification report is positive, the person is set free,” Jain said.
He said that suspected illegal immigrants are being put in four holding areas created in four police zones in Gurugram even if they are in possession of apparently valid identity documents such as Aadhaar card.
“Their fate depends entirely on the reports received from the DCs or DMs from their states. These officials get their credentials verified from various sources to ascertain if they are genuine citizens,” the DCP said.
The Gurugram authorities were ensuring that the verification process doesn’t lead to unnecessary harassment for genuine citizens, Jain said.
Police officials privy to the verification process said it started after the Pahalgam terror attack and will continue until further directions are received from the Ministry of home affairs.
