Bengal: Mamata launches statewide "Language Movement," warns of voter rights agitation
Her announcement came during the Trinamool Congress's (TMC) annual Martyrs' Day rally, which drew a massive crowd in Kolkata and carried deep emotional and political undertones.
The 21 July Martyrs' Day rally is held annually by the TMC to commemorate 13 people killed allegedly by West Bengal Police during a 1993 protest by the Youth Congress against the erstwhile Left Front government of Bengal.
Led by Mamata Banerjee, then state Youth Congress president, the protest — called "Writers' Chalo Abhiyan" — demanded that voter ID cards be the sole proof for voting to curb purported widespread electoral fraud, referred to as "scientific rigging" by the opposition parties and a section of the media.
Addressing the gathering, Banerjee alleged that a "systematic attack" is underway on Bengali identity, with reports of Bengali-speaking individuals being harassed and even arrested in states like Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Rajasthan - all ruled by the BJP.
'Over a thousand people have been jailed just for speaking in Bengali,' Banerjee said, citing a controversial circular that she claims allows authorities to detain suspects for up to a month.
'They're afraid of Bengal's intellect and legacy,' she said passionately, invoking the state's cultural icons like Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam. 'This is the land where the National Anthem was born. Why are you afraid of our language?'
Banerjee called for weekly street protests every Saturday and Sunday until the next assembly elections scheduled for mid next year, urging citizens to stand up against linguistic and cultural discrimination. She also vowed to escalate the movement to the national level if needed.
'I ask everyone to go home and prepare for a larger language movement,' Banerjee said. 'There should be street protests against the continuous attacks on the Bengali language.'
Intensifying her criticism of the BJP, the TMC supremo claimed Bengalis are facing cultural and linguistic discrimination in other states. 'They say you can't speak in Bengali. They want to control what people eat — fish, meat, eggs. A BJP leader even claimed that 17 lakh Rohingyas live in Bengal. In Myanmar, there are only 10 lakh Rohingyas. From where 17 lakh Rohingyas will come? ' she asked.
Responding, Banerjee accused the BJP of using such claims to delete the names of Bengali voters from electoral rolls in Maharashtra, Bihar, and "possibly Bengal next". She also alleged the Centre was withholding funds and discontinuing central welfare schemes as part of a "broader attempt to hinder" the state's development.
However, she emphasised that despite the bottlenecks, her government has continued to provide housing, improve infrastructure, and support all communities without waiting for central assistance
The Chief Minister's speech also took aim at the Election Commission of India (ECI), which she accused of acting under political pressure in allegedly deleting Bengali names from electoral rolls.
'They are deleting names in Bihar. In Gujarat, they are striking out names of Bengali-speaking people. For every Bengali name, four outsiders are being added. This is nothing short of a 'super emergency,'' she said.
Referring to the ECI's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive, Banerjee warned, 'If even one voter from Bengal is removed, we will hit the streets. We will go to Delhi, and if necessary, gherao the Election Commission.'
She compared the voter deletion efforts to an NRC-like exercise, claiming that minorities and Bengali-speaking people are being selectively targeted.
These warnings follow Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent comments in Durgapur, where he accused the TMC of protecting infiltrators through a "fake documentation ecosystem."
'This isn't just a national security threat — it's a betrayal of Bengal's culture,' Modi had said, assuring that non-citizens would face legal consequences.
In response, Banerjee accused the BJP of using national security as a pretext to disenfranchise legitimate Bengali voters.
Adding a poignant layer to the rally, Banerjee paid emotional tribute to two Bengalis recently killed in terror-related incidents in Jammu and Kashmir — Bitan Adhikari, a TCS engineer and civilian victim of the Pahalgam attack, and Havildar Jhantu Ali Sheikh of the Indian Army's elite 6 Para Special Forces, martyred in Udhampur. Their families present on stage were embraced by Banerjee, who emphasised the state's respect for their sacrifice.
The Chief Minister used the moment to underline the emotional and political stakes of her campaign. As the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections draw near, Banerjee's rallying cry signals a combative phase in state politics, with the TMC gearing up for a sustained campaign around language, identity, and democratic rights. UNI XC SSP
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