Abhishek blames BJP for branding Bengali migrants as Bangladeshis
The Statesman | 8 January 2026
Trinamul Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
He was speaking at Balurghat during a public meeting.
Abhishek held Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union minister of state for education Dr Sukanta Majumder responsible for the alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking migrant workers in BJP-ruled states and what he described as a deliberate attempt to brand them as ‘Bangladeshis’.
Mr Banerjee’s criticism came amid growing political tensions over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and reported incidents of Bengali-speaking migrants being detained in Maharashtra. The Trinamul Congress leader described the issue as a serious national concern involving constitutional rights, dignity of citizens, and political accountability.
Ahead of a scheduled special meeting with migrant workers in Malda on Thursday, Mr Banerjee on Wednesday visited Tapan in South Dinajpur district, where he met Asit Sarkar and another migrant worker who had recently returned home after securing bail from a Maharashtra jail. He also interacted with their family members at Sarkar’s residence.
It may be recalled that Asit Sarkar and several of his neighbours, who had migrated to Maharashtra for work, were allegedly arrested and jailed after being branded as Bangladeshis, despite possessing valid documents. Family members claimed that repeated appeals to BJP leaders, including Balurghat MP Dr Sukanta Majumder, failed to yield any assistance in securing bail or legal support.
During the interaction, Mr Banerjee was informed that a local school teacher associated with the BJP had initially taken the initiative to flag the issue by informing BJP leaders. When no response followed, the matter was conveyed to the Trinamul Congress leadership. Mr Banerjee expressed gratitude to the teacher for sharing timely information, stating that the TMC was able to intervene and arrange legal support because it was informed in time.
Mr Banerjee spent over half an hour with the families, interacting with the released migrant workers “like a family friend”. Both the victims and their relatives strongly criticised the Maharashtra police, alleging that no proper verification of documents was carried out before their arrest. Asit Sarkar further alleged that large sums of money were demanded by the police for their release, but despite payments being made through friends, they were eventually produced in court and sent to judicial custody.
During the interaction, Mr Banerjee asked whether Dr Majumder had contacted them to enquire about their situation. He remarked that even a phone call could have offered some reassurance and added that the Balurghat MP could have intervened by informing the BJP-led government in Maharashtra.
After leaving their residence, Mr Banerjee handed over additional assistance for the affected families.
Speaking to reporters later, the TMC general secretary said: “I do not understand why the BJP has started branding Bengali-speaking people as Bangladeshis. What do they gain from this, and what is the real reason behind it?”
He further alleged inconsistencies in the BJP’s narrative on infiltration, saying: “A large number of voters have been deleted in Uttar Pradesh and other states as compared to West Bengal. That itself indicates where the number of infiltrators is high. Where are the so-called one crore Bangladeshi and Rohingya Muslims as claimed by Suvendu Adhikari?”
Mr Banerjee also accused the BJP of internal contradictions and lack of coordination. Citing examples, he said a BJP Rajya Sabha MP, Ananta Maharaj, had publicly claimed that the Prime Minister and the Union home minister were Pakistanis. “Has the BJP ever sought clarification from him?” he asked.
He also criticised the Prime Minister for avoiding the media. “In 11 years, the Prime Minister has not faced reporters or interacted with the media,” Mr Banerjee said.
Referring to BJP MP Shantanu Thakur, Mr Banerjee said it was “interesting” that no concern was shown for the Matua community even if nearly one lakh names from the community were deleted during the SIR process.
On the Matua issue, Mr Banerjee said the BJP had been “playing the same cassette for the last six years” and using the community merely as a vote bank. “The BJP will receive an appropriate reply for this,” he asserted.
He also expressed shock and concern over reports that Nobel laureate Amartya Sen and noted film personality Dipankar Adhikari had been summoned to appear at hearings related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, calling it unprecedented and deeply troubling.
“There is no coordination among BJP leaders ~ Dilip Ghosh, Suvendu Adhikari, Samik Bhattacharya and Sukanta Majumder. There are too many leaders, too many minds,” he said.