Latest news with #Rajbanshis
Time of India
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee alleges harassment of Rajbanshis, Matuas in other states
Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday alleged that Rajbanshis and Matuas were subjected to torture and harassment in other states and people from a particular religion were also being targeted. Speaking at an event in Kolkata, while taking a dig at the Centre over giving political asylum to former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, without naming anyone, the CM said, 'I don't comment on Centre's policies or when someone is kept here in India from the neighbouring country. There are political reasons and other reasons also. But why are you targeting Bengali-speaking people,' the chief minister asked. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category Public Policy MBA CXO others Digital Marketing Degree Cybersecurity Data Science Technology Leadership Data Science MCA Product Management healthcare Data Analytics Design Thinking Healthcare Artificial Intelligence PGDM Project Management Management Finance Operations Management Others Skills you'll gain: Duration: 12 Months IIM Calcutta Executive Programme in Public Policy and Management Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Economics for Public Policy Making Quantitative Techniques Public & Project Finance Law, Health & Urban Development Policy Duration: 12 Months IIM Kozhikode Professional Certificate Programme in Public Policy Management Starts on Mar 3, 2024 Get Details Banerjee said that the Bengali migrant workers could go anywhere to work. 'While Bangladesh is a neighbouring country, why will you say that people talking in Bengali are Bangladeshis? Rohingyas are from Myanmar. How can they learn Bengali?' Banerjee said while responding to BJP's allegation on Rohingyas. The BJP has been alleging that Rohingyas have entered Bengal from Bangladesh and their names have been enrolled in the voter list, with the help of Trinamool Congress. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Cardiologist: The Best Method for a Flat Stomach After 50 (It's Genius!) Lulutox Undo Attacking the BJP-led government at the Centre, she said that caste, creed and religion cannot be reason for deleting names from a voter list. 'Those who are Indian citizens and are voters of Bengal will vote here. Why will you discriminate against the voters of Bengal based on caste, creed and religion?' Banerjee questioned. 'A notification says that Bengali-speaking people will be deported. Our migrant workers are skilled. In India, one can travel anywhere,' she said. On X, AITC wrote, 'Bengalis are being detained, branded as 'outsiders', and even deported while carrying valid documents in hand. From NRC notices to map erasure, the attacks aren't random, they're deliberate. It's time we connect the dots. Watch this and understand what's at stake.' Live Events The Trinamool also claimed that migrant workers from Coochbehar, working in Gurugram, were being allegedly harassed by police in Haryana. Senior Trinamool leader Partha Pratim Roy claimed that several workers from Sitalkuchi block of Cooch Behar district, working as labourers in Gurugram in Haryana for a long time, were subject to police atrocities. "One of them called me tonight and informed me that they are being summoned to the police station on suspicion that they are Bangladeshis. Despite showing their voter cards and Aadhaar cards, the harassment is not stopping," Roy claimed.
Time of India
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Rajbanshis, Matuas tortured in other states: Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claims that Rajbanshis and Matuas face torture in other states. She alleges Bengali speakers are unfairly targeted and labeled as foreigners. Banerjee criticizes the central government's policies regarding Bengali-speaking people. She questions the deletion of names from voter lists based on caste and religion. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday alleged that Rajbanshis and Matuas were subjected to torture and harassment in other states and people from a particular religion were also being at an event in Kolkata, while taking a dig at the Centre over giving political asylum to former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, without naming anyone, the CM said, "I don't comment on Centre's policies or when someone is kept here in India from the neighbouring country. There are political reasons and other reasons also. But why are you targeting Bengali-speaking people?"Banerjee said that the Bengali migrant workers could go anywhere to work. "While Bangladesh is a neighbouring country, why will you say that people talking in Bengali are Bangladeshis? Rohingyas are from Myanmar. How can they learn Bengali?" Banerjee said while responding to BJP's allegation on Rohingyas. BJP has been alleging that Rohingyas have entered Bengal from Bangladesh and their names have been enrolled in the voter list, with the help of Trinamool Congress Attacking the BJP-led government at the Centre, she said that caste, creed and religion cannot be reason for deleting names from a voter list. "Those who are Indian citizens and are voters of Bengal will vote here. Why will you discriminate against the voters of Bengal on basis of caste, creed and religion," Banerjee questioned. "A notification says that Bengali-speaking people will be deported. Our migrant workers are skilled. In India, one can travel anywhere," she X, Trinamool wrote, "Bengalis are being detained, branded as 'outsiders', and even deported while carrying valid documents in hand. From NRC notices to map erasure, the attacks aren't random, they're deliberate. It's time we connect the dots."Trinamool also claimed migrant workers from Coochbehar, working in Gurugram, were being harassed by police in Haryana. Senior leader Partha Pratim Roy claimed several workers from Sitalkuchi block of Cooch Behar district, working as labourers in Gurugram in Haryana, were subject to police atrocities.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Bengal man slapped with NRC notice to miss tribunal hearing?
1 2 Jalpaiguri: Fifty-year-old Cooch Behar resident Uttam Kumar Brajabashi, the member of the Rajbanshi community who received an NRC notice from an Assam foreigners tribunal, is likely to give his document submission hearing on Tuesday a miss. His lawyer, Apurba Sinha, was supposed to attend the Kamrup tribunal hearing on Brajabashi's behalf. But having been unable to contact Brajabashi over the past few days, Sinha is sceptical of attending the hearing. "Assam govt identified him as an illegal immigrant who entered India through the Assam border between 1966 and 1971 and was residing in Dinhata. Surprisingly, another document prepared by Assam govt shows Brajabashi was born in 1977. When govt itself is claiming Brajabashi is 48 years old, how can they ask for documents from between 1966 and 1971?" Sinha said. "However, I am not sure if I can represent him at the tribunal as I have not been able to contact him for the past few days," he added. Meanwhile, Assam govt on Feb 4 issued a notification stating that all Koch Rajbanshis would be treated as indigenous people of Assam. On April 11, Assam chief secretary Partha P Majumdar instructed govt pleaders in Assam to withdraw pending NRC-related cases against people belonging to the Koch Rajbanshi community. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata Questioning the term "Koch Rajbanshi" in Assam govt notices, North Bengal development minister Udayan Guha said, "There is no Koch Rajbanshi community in Cooch Behar or other parts of north Bengal. Yes, there are Rajbanshi people. The notification by Assam govt is misleading and confusing." "We have assured Brajabashi and all other Rajbanshis that our govt and party are with them," Guha told TOI. Sources said Brajabashi may be on the dais on the July 21 martyrs' day rally in Kolkata. BJP's Cooch Behar chief Avijit Barman said, "There is no difference between Koch Rajbanshi and Rajbanshi. Since it was a Cooch Behar kingdom, indigenous people are often called Koch. They are the same. Governing party leaders know this well." He added: "They are just trying to create confusion in an effort to recover their lost ground in north Bengal, especially among the Rajbanshi population. Uttam Kumar Brajabashi has no reason to be afraid. "
Indian Express
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
KLO chief accuses Mamata govt of ‘police, political terror', TMC calls him BJP's stooge
Accusing the TMC government of 'political and police terror' against the Koch and Rajbanshis communities in West Bengal, Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) chief Jibon Singh has asked people to rise against 'Kolkata Sarkar'. The TMC linked the KLO chief's statement with the controversy over a notice issued by the Assam government to a farmer in Cooch Behar, alleging Singh has been acting on BJP's behalf. In a video message shared on social media, the head of the banned outfit said: 'To all my Koch-Rajbanshis friends. The outsider Kolkata Sarkar has illegally, unconstitutionally and forcefully captured the Cooch Behar state. They are allowing infiltration of Bangladeshis, which has made Koch and Rajbanshis minorities in their own land.' 'They have been carrying out police and political terror on Koch-Rajbanshis in a planned manner for a long time… They are arresting the Koch and Rajbanshis, houses torched, and jobs and businesses being usurped,' said Singh, also known as Tamir Das Kamtapur Liberation Organisation was formed in 1995 to wage an armed struggle for a separate state for Koch-Rajbanshis. 'I appeal to all communities of Kamtapur, Koch, Rajbanshis, Adivasis, Gorkha, Bengalis and others. Come let us all come together against this oppressive government and rescue our Kamtapuri state,' he added. TMC spokesperson and chairman of North Bengal State Transport Corporation, Partha Pratim Roy, said that the KLO chief 'is a BJP man'. 'Whenever the BJP is in a crisis in North Bengal, he shares anti-government messages. Even before the elections, he shares messages. Now, the BJP is in a crisis following the Assam government trying to impose NRC on our residents. So, he is coming out with these messages,' Roy said, referring to a Cooch Behar farmer being served notice by the Foreigners tribunal in Assam to prove his citizenship. The KLO is a banned militant outfit operating in Assam and West Bengal the primary demand of which is a separate Kamtapur state, including six districts of north Bengal (Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin and Malda), four states of lower Assam (Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Dhubri, and Goalpara), Kishanganj in Bihar and Jhapa in Nepal. The Koch-Rajbanshis. are estimated to number over 33 lakh in West Bengal, accounting for more than 30 per cent of the electorate in north Bengal. 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
