‘Divisive agenda in Assam' vs ‘encouraging illegal encroachment': Amid citizenship row, Mamata, Himanta in war of words

Indian Express

19-07-2025

A war of words erupted between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Assam counterpart, Himanta Biswa Sarma, on Saturday, with both taking to social media to levy accusations at each other. While Banerjee hit out at the 'divisive agenda of the BJP in Assam', saying it has 'crossed all limits', Sarma hit back, accusing her of compromising the state's future by 'encouraging illegal encroachment by a particular community'.
In a post on X, Banerjee said, 'The second most spoken language in the country, Bangla, is also the second most spoken language of Assam. To threaten citizens, who want to coexist peacefully respecting all languages and religions, with persecution for upholding their own mother tongue is discriminatory and unconstitutional.'
'This divisive agenda of the BJP in Assam has crossed all limits and people of Assam will fight back. I stand with every fearless citizen who is fighting for the dignity of their language and identity, and their democratic rights,' she added.
The post has come in the backdrop of Banerjee raising the issue of the alleged mistreatment of Bengali migrant labourers in other states such as Odisha, Delhi, and Assam. She had also recently called for a unified protest by all Opposition parties after a farmer in Coochbehar district was served a notice by Assam's Foreigners Tribunal saying that he was an 'illegal immigrant' who entered the state without valid documents between 1966 and March 24, 1971.
Reacting to her post, Sarma took to X, saying, 'Didi, let me remind you—In Assam, we are not fighting our own people. We are fearlessly resisting the ongoing, unchecked Muslim infiltration from across the border, which has already caused an alarming demographic shift. In several districts, Hindus are now on the verge of becoming a minority in their own land…'.
'This is not a political narrative—it's a reality. Even the Supreme Court of India has termed such infiltration as external aggression. And yet, when we rise to defend our land, culture, and identity, you choose to politicize it,' he added.
'We do not divide people by language or religion. Assamese, Bangla, Bodo, Hindi—all languages and communities have coexisted here. But no civilisation can survive if it refuses to protect its borders and its cultural foundation,' Sarma further said.
Hitting out at Banerjee, he said, 'While we are acting decisively to preserve Assam's identity, you, Didi, have compromised Bengal's future—encouraging illegal encroachment by a particular community, appeasing one religious community for vote banks, and remaining silent as border infiltration eats away at national integrity—all just to stay in power.'
Assam will continue 'to fight to preserve its heritage, its dignity, and its people—with courage and constitutional clarity', Sarma added.
Ravik Bhattacharya is the Chief of Bureau of The Indian Express, Kolkata. Over 20 years of experience in the media industry and covered politics, crime, major incidents and issues, apart from investigative stories in West Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Andaman Nicobar islands. Ravik won the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award in 2007 for political reporting.
Ravik holds a bachelor degree with English Hons from Scottish Church College under Calcutta University and a PG diploma in mass communication from Jadavpur University. Ravik started his career with The Asian Age and then moved to The Statesman, The Telegraph and Hindustan Times. ... Read More