Tagore Statue, Bangladesh Hindus & More: TMC Tries To Corner BJP With Tough Questions In Parliament
Days after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led a protest march from Kolkata's College Street to Esplanade against the alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking migrants in BJP-ruled states and threatened with a 'second Bhasha Andolan" (language movement), it appears that many Parliamentary questions listed by TMC MPs in both houses are aligning with the party's aggressive 'Bengali Asmita' campaign against the BJP.
On Thursday, TMC's Rajya Sabha MP Ritabrata Banerjee will put forth a question for the Ministry of Culture that may pose a challenge for the Bengal BJP. Banerjee will inquire whether there is indeed no statue of Rabindranath Tagore at the Jallianwala Bagh memorial. If the answer is affirmative, he will seek the reasons for its absence and question whether there are any plans to install Tagore's statue at the memorial soon.
For those unfamiliar, Tagore returned his Knighthood in 1919 to protest against the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, which deeply moved him. Estimates of the dead vary from 379 to 1,500 or more. Every Bengali learns about Tagore's revulsion from a young age. The TMC, aiming to harness the 'Bangaliyana' sentiment, hopes for a straightforward answer devoid of political bias, which could sway voter sentiment in the state against the BJP.
India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) reported 23 Hindu deaths in Bangladesh between early August 2024 and early 2025, linked to violence, along with 152 temple attacks. Between November 26, 2024, and January 25, 2025, there were 76 reported anti-Hindu incidents. Any careless response could have significant political repercussions, and the TMC is waiting patiently for such a slip.
Ghose will also ask whether the Ministry is maintaining records on the number of individuals from the Hindu community who have been victims of attacks in Bangladesh. Furthermore, she will inquire if S Jaishankar's External Affairs Ministry has taken up the matter with the Government of Bangladesh and whether any official fact-finding team has been sent or is planned to be sent to the neighboring nation currently facing civil disturbances.
As TMC has intensified its attack on BJP, the BJP has also sharpened its counter by accusing TMC of helping 'Bangladeshis" obtain Indian documents.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, in the Upper House, TMC's Parliamentary Leader in Rajya Sabha Derek O'Brien listed unstarred questions to the Minister of Home Affairs. He asked for details of funds requested by states and disbursed under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for the rehabilitation of disaster-displaced people over the last five years, year-wise and disaster-wise. This question is significant because just a week ago, Mamata Banerjee accused the Centre of denying flood relief funds to West Bengal. She alleged that while Assam receives aid, West Bengal struggles with floods caused by water release from DVC reservoirs – a charge the DVC denied. O'Brien also inquired whether the Government plans to consult states for introducing any national framework aimed at the long-term rehabilitation of internally displaced people due to disasters, seeking details if such plans exist or reasons for their absence if they do not. This aligns with TMC's broader Bengali pride campaign.
This monsoon session, TMC MPs have posed some tricky parliamentary questions. The ultimate outcome depends on the responses provided, determining whether TMC or BJP will have the last laugh.
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