'BJP crossed all limits in insulting Bengalis': Trinamool slams Amit Malviya amid language row

Tearing into BJP's "Bangla-Birodhi stance", AITC termed this as an attack on constitutional values and called it a "linguistic apartheid". Furthering the attack, AITC demanded that such statements be condemned and opposed.

Taking to X, AITC posted: "'There is, in fact, no language called Bengali' — This shocking justification by @BJP4India-run institutions while profiling Bengali migrant workers reflects the regime's deep-rooted hostility towards the Bengali identity. Denying the existence of a constitutionally recognised language is nothing short of linguistic apartheid. BJP is systematically promoting xenophobia and othering, with Bengalis being deliberately targeted across states. Such dangerous narratives must be condemned and resisted at every level."

Reacting to the matter, State Minister Shashi Panja said, “Amit Malviya, speaking on behalf of the BJP, appears to be suggesting that Bengali is not even a recognised language in India. This is not a slip of the tongue or a display of ignorance, but a deliberate and calculated attempt to insult and marginalise Bengalis, despite knowing full well that Bengali is the second-most widely spoken language in the country and is constitutionally recognised.”

“Does Amit Malviya even understand the richness of the Bengali language? Does he know about its many dialects? Languages are not confined by borders and are spoken across regions. This is nothing but a tool to demean Indian Bengalis. What’s worse is that even Bengali BJP leaders are complicit in this, willing to go to any length to appease their two Gujarati masters,” said AITC leader Debangshu Bhattacharya.

AITC leader Kunal Ghosh added, “The historic movement of 21st February in Bangladesh, what was it for? It was for the Bengali language. There is no such thing as a ‘Bangladeshi language’. Yet Amit Malviya tweets that ‘There is no language called Bengali that neatly covers all these variants.’ Then let me ask: when two lines are written in Bengali on a teleprompter for the Prime Minister to recite, what language is that? Bengali or Bangladeshi? It is Bengali. Let’s be clear: there is no language called Bangladeshi.”

The strong condemnation came from the TMC, which brands BJP as an anti-Bengali party, after Bengali-speaking people were allegedly harassed and called Bangladeshis in other states despite furnishing necessary documents.

As per reports, the supplies of essential services like water and electricity were stopped for the Bengali residents in BJP-ruled states.

The ruling party of West Bengal has also raised the issue of objection to a Bengali fish market in Delhi's Chittaranjan Park.

Reports claim the Bengali residents have been threatened to be sent to Bangladesh through NRC despite having required documents.

Mamata Banerjee had also held a mega rally in Kolkata protesting against the harassment of Bengali migrants in BJP-ruled states.