<p>Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/mamata-banerjee">Mamata Banerjee</a> will lead a protest march in Kolkata on Wednesday over alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking people in BJP-ruled states.</p><p>The march will begin at College Square around 1 pm and conclude at Dharmatala in the heart of the city.</p><p>Senior leaders of the party, including TMC national general secretary <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/abhishek-banerjee">Abhishek Banerjee</a>, will join the march.</p><p>With less than a year left for the assembly elections in West Bengal, the TMC is raising its pitch over what it alleges is a systematic pattern of linguistic profiling, unlawful detentions, and attempts to brand Bengali speakers as "illegal immigrants".</p><p>"This is not a routine political event," state minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said.</p>.TMC distorted my remark on Bengali-speaking people to shield Muslim infiltrators, claims Assam CM.<p>"This is a battle to defend Bengal's honour, language and identity. If someone calls a Bengali a Bangladeshi, we will not take it lying down," she said.</p><p>The TMC usually refrains from holding major public events in the run-up to its annual Shahid Dibas rally on July 21. But the series of recent incidents, including the detention of migrant workers in Odisha, eviction drives in Delhi, and a notice served to a farmer in Cooch Behar by a foreigners' tribunal in Assam, appears to have compelled the party to shift gears.</p><p>The protests over the issues also give a glimpse of the thrust of TMC's campaign for the assembly elections, which will be due mid-next year. The party seems to be betting heavily on rekindling the emotional connection with voters through a campaign that blends identity politics with grassroots mobilisation.</p><p>"Bengal will not bow its head," Bhattacharya said.</p><p>"This fight is not just about migrant workers. It is about our right to exist with dignity in our own country," she added.</p>
<p>Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/mamata-banerjee">Mamata Banerjee</a> will lead a protest march in Kolkata on Wednesday over alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking people in BJP-ruled states.</p><p>The march will begin at College Square around 1 pm and conclude at Dharmatala in the heart of the city.</p><p>Senior leaders of the party, including TMC national general secretary <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/abhishek-banerjee">Abhishek Banerjee</a>, will join the march.</p><p>With less than a year left for the assembly elections in West Bengal, the TMC is raising its pitch over what it alleges is a systematic pattern of linguistic profiling, unlawful detentions, and attempts to brand Bengali speakers as "illegal immigrants".</p><p>"This is not a routine political event," state minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said.</p>.TMC distorted my remark on Bengali-speaking people to shield Muslim infiltrators, claims Assam CM.<p>"This is a battle to defend Bengal's honour, language and identity. If someone calls a Bengali a Bangladeshi, we will not take it lying down," she said.</p><p>The TMC usually refrains from holding major public events in the run-up to its annual Shahid Dibas rally on July 21. But the series of recent incidents, including the detention of migrant workers in Odisha, eviction drives in Delhi, and a notice served to a farmer in Cooch Behar by a foreigners' tribunal in Assam, appears to have compelled the party to shift gears.</p><p>The protests over the issues also give a glimpse of the thrust of TMC's campaign for the assembly elections, which will be due mid-next year. The party seems to be betting heavily on rekindling the emotional connection with voters through a campaign that blends identity politics with grassroots mobilisation.</p><p>"Bengal will not bow its head," Bhattacharya said.</p><p>"This fight is not just about migrant workers. It is about our right to exist with dignity in our own country," she added.</p>