Nobody will dare touch a Hindu or a nationalist Muslim Bengali: Samik
Times of India | 2 August 2025
Kolkata: Nobody would even dare to touch a Hindu or a nationalist Muslim Bengali, state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said on Friday amid allegations of harassment faced by Bengali-speaking migrants in multiple BJP-governed states. Bhattacharya, who had earlier said BJP was not against Muslims, said a narrative was being crafted to create a fear psychosis. Bengal BJP netas, however, reiterated that those "faking Indian citizenship" would be identified.
"There is a deliberate attempt to create fear psychosis among people. Nobody can touch even the hair of a Hindu, Hindu refugees or and Indian Muslims. BJP will stand by them," Bhattacharya said. He was answering questions regarding the "targeted harassment" of migrant workers and the alleged deletion of bona fide names from the voters' lists.
"There are Hindus and Muslims who stayed back in India after the partition. They don't have to fear anything. Whichever commission comes here, the BJP will stand by them," Bhattacharya said. "Messages are being sent every day to scare migrant workers from Bengal. None of the state govts are against the Bengali migrant workers who went to those states in search of work. However, it is also true that speaking in Bangla is not the only criterion for being a voter or a bona fide resident of Bengal," he added.
Earlier in the day, Union minister and former state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said names of no genuine voter will be deleted from the electoral roll. "We are talking about those who are faking as voters in Bengal without any credentials. Their names will definitely be deleted and that cannot be altered," Majumdar said.
Bengal LOP Suvendu Adhikari, in a press conference on Thursday, said names of persons under four categories might get deleted from the electoral roll. "Dead voters, double-entry voters, fake voters and illegal Muslim immigrants' names will not be on the voters' list," he said.
Bhattacharya alleged Trinamool is demanding retention of names of "dead voters" in the electoral roll. "This cannot be the stand of a political party. They are trying to undermine a constitutional body and intimidate its officials," he said.