TMC slams BJP govt as 200 Bengali migrants ‘tagged B'deshis', ‘detained' in Odisha
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
Bengal Police has already sent verification reports of multiple detainees to their Odisha counterparts.
"This is heading into dangerous territory," Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said on Wednesday. "Bengalis will speak Bengali. Is that a crime? And why is this happening only in BJP-governed states," Ghosh asked. Odisha cops said as many as 448 suspected Bangladeshis and Rohingya were identified and shifted to centres in Jharsuguda and Jagatsinghpur.
TMC MP Mahua Moitra slammed Odisha govt, demanding the immediate release of 23 workers from Nadia's Mirzapur, allegedly detained at Jharsuguda since Monday night. "All of these 23 workers have valid documentation, Aadhaar cards, EPICs, everything they need to work there. India is a union of states, and every single citizen has the right to life, the right to livelihood, and the right to work anywhere within the territory of India.
Please do not think that there is no one to fight for these workers. There is absolutely no reason to detain them," stated Moitra. "Release them or we will file 23 habeas corpus petitions in every court in this land," she added.
Moitra said that such incidents never took place during the 24-year period when the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD govt was in office in Odisha, but ever since BJP came to office, such incidents had become a daily occurrence.
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
"I urge Odisha govt to think... It is easy for you to prey, to harass, to intimidate poor workers who go to earn a livelihood. Have you ever thought that 50% of Odisha's tourism revenue comes from Bengalis? If you harass and detain our workers, Bengali tourists will stop going to Odisha.
They are the ones who stay at your hotels, who eat at your restaurants, who visit your places of pilgrimage. What will happen?" she said.
According to TMC netas, over 200 migrant workers from Nadia, Murshidabad, Malda, Birbhum, East Burdwan and South 24 Parganas have been picked up in recent weeks by Odisha cops and kept at interrogation centres in Jharsuguda. TMC Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam alleged that these detentions were part of a "deliberate pattern of harassment" based on the workers' language and origin.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Akhilesh: Farmers ask for fertilizers, get police batons instead
1 2 Lucknow: Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday accused the BJP govt of using police force to silence farmers who are raising their voice against non-availability of fertilizers at govt outlets. He said in 2017 the BJP promised to double farmers' income once in govt, but the party has failed to live up to its promise and things have come to a pass where the farmers were now being deprived of basic elements like seeds, fertilizers and regular power supply for irrigation of crops. "At a time when farmers need DAP and urea-based fertilizers, the govt has failed to provide them with it. Crop for the Kharif season in general and paddy in particular has been sown, and it is time to add fertilizers, but govt backed outlets say they don't have the stock. The BJP govt seems completely insensitive to how important the timing of adding fertilizers is for the farmers to nourish their crop. Delay will take its toll on the quality of crop," Akhilesh said. He said there was a severe shortage of fertilizers in Gonda, Basti, Hathras, Sitapur, and Lakhimpur Kheri to name a few. "With men at fields, farmers send women folks to stand in queue at the co-operative societies for fertilizers early in the morning. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like No annual fees for life UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo These women spend hours at a stretch standing in queues only to be told that the stocks have been exhausted. This leaves the farmers feeling hapless and disgusted. The worst is that when these farmers raise their voice, the govt uses police to silence them," Akhilesh said. The former UP CM cited the instance reported from co-operative society in Sanker Bhadura area of Lakhimpur Kheri where police cane charged farmers who had gathered to buy fertilizers after the outlet announced that the stock for the day was exhausted. In a viral video clip of the police action, cops can be seen thrashing an old woman with sticks when she intervened to save her farmer son being beaten and forced into a police vehicle. "Farmers are being humiliated," Akhilesh said referring to the incident. He described police action as an example of how the BJP govt was forcefully silencing the farmers. "It is not only about Lakhimpur Kheri. In Hathras several co-operative societies don't have DAP and urea stocks. At many outlets of Gonda, fertilizers are being sold only on papers," he said.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
HC tells W.B. to file affidavit on resuming student union polls
The Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed the West Bengal government to file an affidavit within two weeks on the resumption of student union elections and urged the State to issue a notification to initiate the election process promptly. The verbal order was given during a hearing of a 2023 public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Sayan Banerjee. In the PIL, Mr. Banerjee had petitioned for the resumption of student union elections across public universities in West Bengal, as well as the reinstatement of anti-ragging committees. Notably, student union elections came to a halt across higher education institutions in West Bengal a little before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Earlier this year, students of Jadavpur University staged protests demanding holding of elections, which have been withheld in the institution for five years. 'This is a positive step towards the restoration of a democratic atmosphere in the State's higher education institutes. Student union elections must be expedited. Without that various problems have arisen, including the unchecked reign of terror by former office-bearers. Many of them have graduated but continue to exert their influence on college campuses as outsiders,' Mr. Banerjee told The Hindu. He added that in response to the government's counsel stating that many higher education institutions currently do not have a Vice-Chancellor (V-C), the court urged the State to begin elections in universities where a V-C is present. Earlier this month, hearing another PIL by Mr. Banerjee, the High Court had directed the State government to lock up union rooms in colleges where there was no recognised student body or where student union elections had not taken place recently. 'The State government is willing to conduct student union elections, and politically, the student wing of Trinamool is ready for fresh union polls. However, for various challenges like the pandemic and the change in the semester system in colleges due to the National Education Policy 2020, the State hasn't been able to conduct elections so far,' Trinamool Congress spokesperson Debangshu Bhattacharya said. Political influence The court on Thursday also observed that the governing bodies of higher education institutions in the State should be freed from political influence and should include renowned academicians. Currently, several Trinamool leaders are part of the governing bodies of many public universities. Notably, Trinamool MLA Ashok Deb heads the governing body of South Calcutta Law College, where Monojit Mishra, an ex-student and a temporary employee, has been accused of raping a student. Mishra also had strong ties to the ruling dispensation. 'In various State commissions, the West Bengal government has tried to minimise political influence by appointing renowned public intellectuals to head them. In case of governing bodies in educational institutions, I believe there is no harm in including Trinamool leaders who have been academics in the past, like Bratya Basu and Saugata Ray. They understand administration, the pulse of common students, and also have experience in academia,' Mr. Bhattacharya said.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Kejriwal bought two high-end phones beyond budget cap during AAP rule, says Sood
With the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) objecting to the increase in budget allocation for the CM and Ministers to purchase mobile phones, Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood on Thursday alleged that AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal had bought expensive phones exceeding the budgetary allocation when he was the CM .Addressing a press conference, Mr. Sood said that in 2013, the Chief Minister was allocated ₹50,000 and Ministers ₹45,000 to purchase mobile phones. At that time, AAP leaders had purchased mobile phones 'exceeding the limit' and had pressurised the department concerned to pay the extra amount, he alleged. 'Moreover, during the COVID-19 period, Arvind Kejriwal purchased two mobile phones worth ₹1.40 lakh and ₹1.64 lakh. [Former Deputy Chief Minister] Manish Sisodia, too, purchased two phones costing ₹1.66 lakh and ₹1.37 lakh,' the Minister said. Responding to the allegations, AAP accused the BJP leaders of 'trying to cover up the corruption'. 'Kejriwalji honoured every promise he made to the people of Delhi,' the party said. Mr. Sood alleged that former Chief Minister Atishi also purchased a phone worth ₹1.27 lakh in 2023, despite being entitled to reimbursement of only ₹45,000. The Minister clarified that mobile phones are no longer an 'item of luxury', and Ministers and officials are using them to receive complaints through e-mail and WhatsApp and get updates and reports of issues faced by the people. The Delhi government has recently revised the funds for purchasing mobile phones, allocating ₹1.5 lakh for the Chief Minister and ₹1.25 lakh for Ministers.
