'Their only offence is they speak Bengali': Congress leader Adhir meets PM Modi over attacks on migrants

Chowdhury, a former Congress chief in West Bengal, urged the prime minister's intervention in helping stop such attacks, which, he said, could lead to communal tension and possibly violence in the state.

New Delhi: Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury met Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday and raised the issue of attacks on Bengali-speaking people, especially in BJP-ruled states.

Chowdhury, a former Congress chief in West Bengal, urged the prime minister's intervention in helping stop such attacks, which, he said, could lead to communal tension and possibly violence.

"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," Chowdhury said in a letter to Modi.

Several parts of West Bengal have a majority Muslim population and share a border with Bangladesh, and communal tension is rising among communities in these areas as a result of such attacks elsewhere in the country, he said.

A 30-year-old migrant worker, Jewel Rana from the Jangipur region in Murshidabad district in West Bengal, was killed in Sambalpur of Odisha on Wednesday following an altercation over a 'bidi'.

The issue of Bengali migrants being targeted outside West bengal has also been a major talking point for the Mamata banerjee-led Trinamool Congress which has attacked the BJP over its 'disdain for Bengali-speaking people'.

Banerjee on Tuesday at a rally alleged that the BJP leaders promise 'Sonar Bangla' ahead of elections, but beat up people for speaking in Bengali in other states.

West Bengal Migrants Welfare Board has also said that it received 1,143 complaints of harassment in 10 months, especially in the BJP-ruled states.

Nearly 30 lakh Bengali migrants working in informal sectors across the country have faced harassment in several BJP-ruled states, chairman Samirul Islam said.

Around 95 people were detained for speaking in Bengali in BJP-ruled states under suspicion of being Bangladeshis but everyone among them turned out to be Indians," Islam said.

(With PTI inputs)