Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister on Tuesday waded into the ‘illegal migration’ issue by mentioning US President Dona;d Trump.
Speaking at an event in Purba Bardhaman, she also took an acerbic jab at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Gujarati angle.
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“Trump chased away Gujaratis, but places like Harvard, Oxford, Columbia, San Francisco can’t run without Bengalis,” CM Mamata said.
The firebrand leader has been taking on the BJP over the alleged atrocities on Bengalis in the saffron-ruled states like Haryana, Assam, Gujarat, Rajasthan and others.
Ahead of the state Assembly elections next year, her party TMC has made it a potent poll plank too.
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Taking pride in the benevolent nature of Bengalis she added, “West Bengal has 1.5 crore outsiders, but we don’t treat them like Bengali speaking people are being treated, tortured elsewhere.”
A sharp political exchange had recently erupted on social media Mamata and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over language rights, infiltration, and identity in Assam.
Mamata took to X to express her solidarity with those who are allegedly being threatened for upholding their mother tongue—Bangla.
Emphasizing that Bangla is the second most spoken language in both India and Assam, she called out what she termed an unconstitutional suppression of linguistic identity.
Sarma responded to her remarks with an equally strong rebuttal, asserting that the state’s actions are aimed at protecting its demographic and cultural integrity, not targeting linguistic communities.
Also Read: Mamata Banerjee-Himanta Sarma clash over language rights, infiltration in Assam
Mamata also took on the NDA government at the Centre over the latter’s partisan attitude towards her state.
“We answered all your queries, yet you (Centre) stop fund disbursement and call Bengal a ‘thief’,” she said.
Mamata’s statement would open a can of worms.
Now, it’s the BJP’s turn to retaliate.
Battle lines are drawn.
Modi recently visited Kolkata and tore into the TMC government over graft.
And Didi in her characteristic avatar has held no punches back to counter him.
Yes, the poll bugle has been sounded.