KOLKATA: On Thursday, Mamata Banerjee, the Chairperson of the Trinamool Congress and Chief Minister of West Bengal, intensified her criticism of the BJP regarding the purported mistreatment of Bengali-speaking individuals from West Bengal in various states, asserting that such actions will not be tolerated.

In retaliation, Amit Malviya, the head of the BJP’s IT cell, accused her of “lying” and asserted that those being interrogated are illegal Bangladeshi immigrants who may speak Bengali but are not citizens of India.

In a post on X on Thursday evening, Banerjee stated, “I have been receiving an increasing number of reports regarding the detentions and mistreatment of our Bengali-speaking individuals from different districts of West Bengal in Gurgaon, Haryana. The West Bengal police is obtaining these reports from Haryana police under the guise of identity verification requests.”

“Additionally, I have been receiving separate and increasing reports from other states, such as Rajasthan, concerning the illegal ‘pushbacks’ of West Bengal citizens who possess all necessary documentation back to Bangladesh directly!!” she further claimed.

She noted that West Bengal Government officials have received copies of the relevant documents and alleged “torture and mistreatment of vulnerable Bengali workers from West Bengal in these states.”

“I am appalled by these horrific acts of the double-engine governments against Bengalis in India. What are you trying to demonstrate? This is outrageous and unacceptable. We will not stand for this. Cease this linguistic terror,” she declared vehemently at the BJP.

Just 21 minutes after Banerjee’s post, Malviya responded on X to refute her claims.

“You are LYING. Those being questioned are illegal Bangladeshi immigrants who may speak Bangla but are NOT Indian citizens. You are a DISGRACE for equating Indian citizens from West Bengal with illegal migrants from Bangladesh, simply because they are all TMC voters,” he charged against Banerjee.

He also claimed that these illegal migrants are supporters of the Trinamool Congress.

Malviya stated, “Your administration has facilitated these unlawful migrants in acquiring Aadhaar and other governmental documents prior to their infiltration into various regions of India, all under the stipulation that they return to cast their votes for the TMC in every election. Keep in mind: no ILLEGAL migrant will be exempt. Cease exploiting their ability to speak Bangla to advance your nefarious political agenda.”