Congress' Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury meets PM Modi, flags attacks on Bengali-speaking migrants

Adhir shared his letter with Modi in which he said the migrant workers from West Bengal are facing "severe discrimination in various states" and are facing "violence and even (being) beaten to death".

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Tuesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to raise the issue of attacks on Bengali-speaking people, especially in BJP-ruled states, saying that their offence was they speak in a language that is misunderstood as belonging to Bangladesh and treated as infiltrators.

While West Bengal Migrants Welfare Board has said that it has received 1,143 complaints of harassment in 10 months, a 30-year-old migrant worker from Murshidabad in West Bengal was killed in Odisha last Wednesday. Two migrant workers in Mumbai were also arrested in Mumbai recently on suspicion of being illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Adhir shared his letter with Modi in which he said the migrant workers from West Bengal are facing "severe discrimination in various states (most precisely BJP-ruled states)" and are facing "violence, hatred, abuse and even (being) beaten to death".

"Their only offence is that they speak in Bengali language which are often misunderstood by the concerned administration as persons belonging to neighbouring Bangladesh and treated as infiltrators. It is ironic to note that...officers, including police, do not differentiate between 'Banglabhashi' and 'Bangladeshi'...Without committing any offence, they are lodged in jail or detention centre..." he said.

He asked Modi to sensitise all state governments to stop the harassment of Bengali-speaking people.