Sending NRC notices to Bengal citizens attack on their identity: Mamata slams Himanta

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday hit out at the BJP-led government in Assam for “sending NRC notices” to bona fide citizens of Bengal, accusing the saffron party of launching an attack on the Bengali language.

Banerjee cited instances of such notices sent to a resident of Alipurduar district and another person in Cooch Behar.

The chief minister, speaking at the TMC Martyrs’ Day rally here on Monday, had criticised her Assam counterpart, Himanta Biswa Sarma and questioned his authority in sending National Register of Citizens (NRC) notices to Bengal residents, and demanded he stop meddling in matters that are beyond his jurisdiction.

“Such actions are unacceptable and violate the rights of the residents of Bengal,” Banerjee said at the state secretariat on Tuesday.

A war of words between the two chief ministers broke out last week after Banerjee called the Assam government's actions “a divisive agenda of the BJP” targeting citizens speaking Bengali, and Sarma responded that he was “fearlessly resisting the ongoing, unchecked Muslim infiltration from across the border.”

On Tuesday, Banerjee maintained that the BJP government at the Centre was pursuing a discriminatory policy against the Bengali language and the people of the state, and attempts were being made to label those who speak Bengali as ‘Bangladeshi citizens’.

"Just today, another resident from Falakata (Alipurduar) has received the NRC notice. This is an attack on the identity of the people of Bengal. We will not tolerate it," she asserted.

The people of Bengal would continue to resist such moves and fight for their rights, the CM said.

"Bengalis have a rich history and we will not allow anyone to undermine it. The BJP government has adopted a policy of hatred towards the Bengali language. They are trying to implement the NRC in Bengal by branding our people as Bangladeshis,” Banerjee alleged.