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The Hindu
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Matua migrants from Bengal being harassed in Pune: TMC MP
Amid reports of migrant workers from West Bengal being targeted in BJP-ruled States, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Tuesday alleged that those who belonged to the Matua community were facing harassment in Maharashtra. Rajya Sabha MP and chairperson of West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board Samirul Islam said his office received information about 'police harassment of at least six members of the Matua community from North 24 Parganas, currently residing in Pune'. 'Members of our beloved Matua community have been facing harassment by the anti-Bengali BJP government in Maharashtra. Hatred in politics spares no one. BJP leaders are trying to malign Bengali-speaking migrant workers by branding them as Rohingyas,' the Trinamool Congress MP said. Mr. Islam in a social media post said, 'The Pune police are reportedly refusing to recognise identity cards issued by the All India Matua Mahasangha, besides EPIC and Aadhaar cards.' The TMC leader said BJP MP and Union Minister of State Santanu Thakur himself belongs to the Matua community and asked whether Matua brothers and sisters are Rohingyas? He said that his office has 'reached out to the affected family, which confirmed that the police have detained Arush Adhikary and at least five others, including minors, on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals'. Protest planned today The TMC leader said he will hit the streets of Kolkata today to protest against the targeting of migrants from West Bengals. Earlier, there have been reports of migrants from the State being harassed and detained in Odisha, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The Trinamool Congress had last week alleged that over 400 migrants from the State were detained in Odisha and the State's Chief Secretary wrote to his Odisha counterpart on the targeting of Bengali speaking migrants. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had expressed protests to such incidents and said that speaking in Bengali does not make a person ' Bangladeshi'.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘Shoved into buses, sent to Bengal': TMC MPs flag Bengali migrants' detention in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Tuesday once again pointed to the alleged plight of migrant labourers from West Bengal, claiming that a group after being released from detention in Chattisgarh were forcibly put into buses and sent back to their home state. Also, party's Rajya Sabha MP and West Bengal Migrant Labour Board chairman Samirul Islam said that some members of the Matua community have been detained in Pune, Maharashtra. Their reaction came a day before Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to lead a rally in Kolkata in protest against the alleged detention and harassment of migrant labourers from Bengal in other states. 'The nine workers who have been kidnapped by Chhattisgarh police… have now been let free. Now they have been forcibly pushed into buses, to be forced to come back to Bengal. This is completely illegal,' said Moitra, the Lok Sabha MP from Krishnanagar, in a video message posted on X. 'I urge the Chhattisgarh DGP. Are you aware of what your police are doing? They put them in illegal detention. We have no idea where they are. Now you have released them and you are shoving into buses to put them into Bengal. They are not criminals, they have every right to be in whichever state they want to be. You have no right to throw them out of the territory of Chhattisgarh. I hope you realize this. If you don't, I am going to take you to court,' she added. On Monday, she had pointed to the detention of nine migrant workers from Nadia district, which is part of her constituency, in Chhattisgarh. Islam wrote on X, 'Now members of our beloved Matua community have been facing harassment by the anti-Bengali BJP government in Maharashtra . Hatred in politics spares no one. BJP leaders are trying to malign Bengali-speaking migrant workers by branding them as Rohingyas. Recently, our office at the West Bengal Migrant Workers' Welfare Board received information about police harassment of at least six members of the Matua community from North 24 Parganas, currently residing in Pune, Maharashtra.' 'We have already reached out to the affected family, who confirmed that the police in BJP-ruled Maharashtra have detained Arush Adhikary and at least five others including minors, on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals. Shockingly, BJP MP and Union Minister of State Santanu Thakur himself belongs to the Matua community,' he said. 'We have also learned that the Pune police are reportedly refusing to recognize identity cards issued by the All India Matua Mahasangha (AIMM), besides EPIC and Aadhar cards…' he added. These incidents come in the wake of similar detentions of Bengali-speaking migrant workers in Odisha, Gujarat, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh. Last month, seven migrant workers detained in Mumbai were pushed into Bangladesh, who were later brought back.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘Shoved into buses and sent to Bengal': Mahua Moitra slams Chhattisgarh Police for treatment of migrant workers
The nine migrant labourers detained by the Chhattisgarh Police have been set free but 'shoved into buses and sent to West Bengal', claimed Trinamool Congress (TMC) Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra Tuesday. Meanwhile, TMC Rajya Sabha MP and West Bengal Migrant Workers Welfare Board chairman Samirul Islam said Matua community members have been detained in Pune. The leaders' statements came a day ahead of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's rally in Kolkata in protest against the detention and harassment of migrant labourers from Bengal in other states. 'The nine workers who have been detained by Chhattisgarh police have now been set free. Now they have been forced into service, to be sent back to Bengal. This is completely illegal,' said Moitra in a video message shared through her X handle. 'I urge the Chhattisgarh DGP. Are you aware of what your police are doing? They put them in illegal detention. We have no idea where they are. Now you have released them, and you are shoving them into buses to put them into Bengal. They are not criminals; they have every right to be in any state they choose. You have no right to throw them out of the territory of Chhattisgarh. I hope you realise this. If you don't, I am going to take you to court,' added Moitra. On Monday evening, Moitra highlighted the plight of the nine migrant workers from her Krishnanagar constituency allegedly detained in Chhattisgarh. On Tuesday, Samirul Islam highlighted that members of the Matua community have been detained in Pune, Maharashtra. 'Now members of our beloved Matua community have been facing harassment by the anti-Bengali BJP government in Maharashtra. Hatred in politics spares no leaders are trying to malign Bengali-speaking migrant workers by branding them as Rohingyas. Recently, our office at the West Bengal Migrant Workers' Welfare Board received information about police harassment of at least six members of the Matua community from North 24 Parganas, currently residing in Pune, Maharashtra.' Islam said on X. 'We have already reached out to the affected family, who confirmed that the police in BJP-ruled Maharashtra have detained Arush Adhikary and at least five others, including minors, on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals. Shockingly, BJP MP and Union Minister of State Santanu Thakur himself belongs to the Matua community.' 'We have also learned that the Pune police are reportedly refusing to recognise identity cards issued by the All India Matua Mahasangha (AIMM), besides EPIC and Aadhar cards…' Islam wrote. The incident comes close on the heels of similar detentions of Bengali-speaking migrant workers in Odisha, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi, and Madhya Pradesh Last month, seven migrant workers detained in Mumbai were forcibly pushed into Bangladesh, but they were later repatriated.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Odisha releases 403 Bengali migrant workers detained on B'deshi suspicion
1 2 Kolkata/Berhampore: Odisha has released 403 out of 447 Bengali-speaking migrants it had detained, suspecting them of being illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, over the past three days. Most of the Bengali-speaking migrant workers have been released, said Trinamool MP Samirul Islam, who chairs the state migrant workers' welfare board. The migrant workers, most of them from Birbhum and Murshidabad and some from South 24 Parganas, had been mostly picked up by the Jharsuguda police, according to Islam. Samiul Sk from Shahjadpur village in Murshidabad was among those detained. His father, Sariful Seikh, said his son had been detained at Pahala police station in Odisha's Khurda district along with five other teenaged migrant workers who worked as masons. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata Police had taken away their phones, Seikh said, adding, "Police in Odisha were not ready to accept any document such as Aadhaar. Finally, we approached Hariharpara police station, after which they were freed." Mursalim Seikh of Benedaha in Beldanga, whose 17-year-old son Sagar Ali was detained in Odisha, said, "Is there any law against a labourer going to work in another state? Sagar went there with others his age." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Stop dit in je schoenen! Op dag 3 zakte m'n lievelingsbroek al af (ik stond paf!) Undo The Calcutta High Court was informed on Friday that after it asked the Odisha govt to furnish details of two people it had detained, they were released. Raghunath Chakraborty, the lawyer representing these two migrant workers, told the HC: "We have received information from the person concerned that detainees have been released from Odisha after the matter was filed in the HC. They have come back to their homes. But it needs to be determined whether such detentions are legal. " Krishnanagar MP Mahua Moitra wrote on X that all detainees from Nadia, barring two, were released. "Robiul Sheikh and Mohir Munshi with verified documents are still being detained illegally by Odisha only because of a Bangladeshi phone number on their phones! Is that even a crime?" she wrote. Meanwhile, Islam took a dig at BJP Bengal co-in-charge Amit Malviya for claiming that 335 of those detained had fake documents. "Now it's your responsibility to submit proof about all these individuals you were claiming to be Bangladeshis," he said.
Time of India
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
227 Bengali workers confined in Odisha
Kolkata: The alleged detention and deportation of Indian citizens from West Bengal is snowballing into a serious concern, with the state government receiving fresh complaints about the alleged detention of 227 migrant workers from Bengal in Jharsuguda in Odisha after being labelled as ' Bangladeshis '. Meanwhile, two habeas corpus petitions have been filed in the Calcutta High Court against the Delhi Police over the illegal detention and deportation of a couple from Murarai in Birbhum, along with their minor son. "The Calcutta High Court is scheduled to hear the two habeas corpus petitions filed against the Delhi Police over the illegal detention of a couple from Murarai in Birbhum, along with their minor son. The family later came to know that they had been illegally deported to Bangladesh. Under the leadership of @MamataOfficial, we will fight the anti-Bengali actions of BJP-ruled states until our last breath," chairman of the Migrant Workers Welfare Board and Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam posted on X. Speaking to ET, Islam said 227 migrant workers have been detained by Jharsuguda Sadar and other police stations in Odisha on the grounds that they were Bangladeshis.
