Mamata accuses BJP of targeting Bengalis through 'backdoor NRC', vows to 'expose' party globally

Jhargram: Launching a blistering attack on the BJP, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday accused the party of conspiring to harass Bengali-speaking migrants through voter list purges, warning that if genuine voters are disenfranchised, she would expose the Centre’s alleged persecution of Bengal and Bengalis on international platforms.

Breaking her long-held restraint on internationalising domestic issues, Banerjee threatened that she would take the alleged issue to the global stage if the BJP-led central government continues its efforts to target marginalised communities under the guise of citizenship verification and revision of electoral rolls.

"If they remove the names of genuine Bengalis from the electoral rolls, I will travel the world and expose their (BJP's) true faces," Banerjee warned.

"I never speak about our country to the outside world. But if this continues, I will not remain silent. If Bengal faces atrocities, I will tell the whole world how this government is torturing us," she added.

Addressing a massive rally packed with migrant families, students, and leaders from the tribal heartland of Jhargram, the Trinamool Congress chief alleged that the BJP, through its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was laying the groundwork for a "backdoor NRC" to systematically disenfranchise minorities, tribals, and opposition supporters.

"They are saying there is no language called Bengali. I will expose them before the world. If you attack the Bengali language or Bengal's people, I will not stay silent," Banerjee said, after taking part in a 3-km-long protest march.

This was her second such warning, following the July 28 protest in Kolkata, where she had launched the 'Bhasha Andolan' (Language Movement), a fiery escalation of her anti-BJP offensive ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.

Alleging that people were "dying by suicide out of fear", Banerjee claimed the BJP was weaponising the revision of electoral rolls to execute a divisive agenda aimed at exclusion.

"The ploy behind SIR is to bring the NRC through the backdoor," she said.

"Not a single elector should be omitted from the voter list. They are trying to prepare a BJP list, not a voter list," she added.

Slamming the BJP's demand for citizenship documents, the TMC chief asked, "Do BJP leaders themselves have their birth certificates? Mr. Amit Shah, arrest me if I am wrong. Do you have your parents' birth certificates?" Expressing outrage over reports of Bengalis, including tribals and Rajbanshis from Cooch Behar, receiving notices from Assam, Banerjee called the move unconstitutional.

"Who gave birth to India's freedom struggle and social awakening? Without Bengal, neither India nor the world can move forward. Bengal's talent is spread across the globe. And today, what are you doing?" she said.

Drawing from history to bolster her point, Banerjee said, "Today, if someone speaks Bengali, they are jailed and labelled as Bangladeshi or Rohingya. I want to ask them, in which language did Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Netaji, Swami Vivekananda and Raja Ram Mohan Roy speak? In which language was the National Anthem written? Who composed our National Song?"

Raising concerns about the future of millions who lack birth records, Banerjee said, "Earlier, institutional delivery rate was 60 per cent. Even I was born at home. Where will the certificate come from? Now everything is based on 2002. Those who are demanding this, do they have their birth certificates?" Banerjee also alleged that the BJP and the EC were using a 2002 register as the basis to drop names from the updated electoral rolls.

"They are referring to a 2002 list. How many people have died since then? How many have been born? You want to delete names based on a two-decade-old list? That is not going to happen here," she said.

Claiming that Bengalis were being picked up under NRC-related actions across the country, she said, "They have detained people from Bengal in Gurugram, Rajasthan, Assam, Odisha, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. We have the list. We brought many of them back." Accusing the Centre of dictatorial tendencies, Banerjee said, "If you think you can snatch away people's rights by force and division, you will have to go over our bodies. We will stand guard." "Everyone must register their names in the voter list. This country is ours. Where were you during the freedom struggle? You weren't even born. And today, we have to learn lessons from you?" she said.

Taking on the Election Commission, the chief minister alleged it had become a political tool of the Centre and the BJP.

Referring to the BJP-led Centre's outreach in the Gulf, she added, "In Tripura, are Bengalis not called Bengalis? You hug the Sheikhs when you go to Dubai. I have no issues with that, I respect all. But when you come to Bengal, you say remove the names of tribals and Muslims." Banerjee also warned of mass retaliation if the BJP continued to push its agenda in Bengal.

"The day BJP leaders come here, we too will hold protest marches across Bengal. When they arrive, ask them to first answer our questions, then they can spread their lies," she said.