Trinamool claims Delhi Police called Bengali a Bangladeshi language, BJP retorts

India Today

2 days ago

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), on Sunday went ballistic against the Delhi Police for allegedly addressing Bangla as a "Bangladeshi" language. She also accused the Centre of using "anti-Constitutional language to insult and humiliate Bengali- speaking people".The Trinamool chief shared a letter purportedly written by the Lodhi Colony Police Station and was addressed to the Banga Bhawan in Delhi with the subject line reading "Translation of documents containing text written in Bangladeshi language-regarding".advertisementThe purported letter was written by the police to apprise the Banga Bhawan about the arrest of eight suspected Bangladeshi nationals illegally living in India without any valid documents.
India Today TV could not verify the authenticity of the purported letter."See now how Delhi police under the direct control of Ministry of Home, Government of India is describing Bengali as " Bangladeshi" language! Bengali, our mother tongue, the language of Rabindranath Tagore and Swami Vivekananda, the language in which our National Anthem and the National Song (the latter by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay) are written, the language in which crores of Indians speak and write, the language which is sanctified and recognised by the Constitution of India, is now described as a Bangladeshi language!!" the West Bengal Chief Minister sent out a scathing tweet.Calling the Delhi Police's alleged reference "scandalous, insulting, anti- national, unconstitutional", the Trinamool Congress Supremo added, "This insults all Bengali-speaking people of India. They cannot use this kind of language which degrades and debases us all. We urge immediate strongest possible protests from all against the anti-Bengali Government of India who are using such anti-Constitutional language to insult and humiliate the Bengali- speaking people of India".The picture of the letter shared by Mamata Banerjee also had another part of it highlighted in yellow, which read, "The identification document contains texts written in Bangladeshi and are needed to be translated to Hindi and English. Now for the investigation to proceed further, it is requested that an official translator/interpreter proficient in Bangladeshi national language may kindly be provided for the aforesaid purpose".Calling the purported letter an attempt to "defame Bengal", Trinamool MP Abhishek Banerjee also attacked the Centre, saying, "For months now, Bengali-speaking people have been targeted, harassed and detained across BJP-ruled states. Now, in a shocking escalation, @DelhiPolice has officially referred to Bangla, as a "Bangladeshi language" in an official letter".He accused the government of trying to undermine the Bangla cultural identity and equate West Bengal with Bangladesh for "narrow political propaganda".advertisementEchoeing her senior party leaders, Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra lashed out at the BJP government in the Centre, demanded an apology by the Delhi Police and sought strict action against the officer concerned. She also attacked the Central and Delhi governments over the crackdown against illegal immigrants.She said it was not a clerical mistake but a calculated action by the BJP and the Centre to delegitimise Bengali and Bengal's linguistic identity.BJP REBUTS TRINAMOOL'S CLAIMSThe BJP reacted strongly to the Trinamool Congress's claims and accused Mamata Banerjee of fanning enmity between people of different cultures by "weaponising language"."It is beyond shameful that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is defending a lawful police action against illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators by weaponising language and stoking sentiment. Let us be absolutely clear: all illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators and Rohingyas will be dealt with strictly, as per the law of the land," BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya tweeted."No political grandstanding or vote-bank politics will come in the way of protecting India's sovereignty and national security. Of all people, Mamata Banerjee should know this," he added.- Ends