Latest news with #SamirulIslam
Time of India
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Hry releases 27 Bengal workers, 3 still in detention
1 2 Kolkata: As many as 27 of 30 Bengali migrant workers, held by Surajkund police in Faridabad since July 15, have been released, Trinamool Congress MP and chairman of West Bengal Migrant Workers' Welfare Board Samirul Islam said on Saturday. While they were released in a phased manner, three still remain in detention. All of them worked as ragpickers and hail from Nadia. On July 16, CM Mamata Banerjee walked from College Square to Esplanade to protest the detentions of Bengali migrants in different parts of the country. She claimed that the Centre "issued a secret notification in Feb to detain and arrest anyone speaking in Bengali in case of any suspicion". Calling it "super-Emergency", Banerjee also signalled that the state administration would legally challenge the detentions of Bengali-speaking migrant workers. Highlighting the continuing harassment of Bengali-speaking workers in BJP-governed states like Odisha, Assam, and Delhi, Islam added that even members of the Matua community and Rajbanshis were being detained and arrested. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata Islam alleged that migrant Bengalis were being labelled as Rohingya and Bangladeshis, without verifying their identity. "The same thing happened in BJP-governed Maharashtra too. In Pune, Matuas were detained on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals. Shockingly, BJP MP and junior Union minister Shantanu Thakur, himself a Matua, is silent on the issue," he said. Mamata Bala Thakur, TMC's RS MP and a Matua leader , on Saturday visited the houses of some of the detained Matuas living in Bongaon to assure them that the state govt was taking all steps to ensure their early release.
The Hindu
17 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Family from Birbhum deported to Bangladesh, says West Bengal migrant board Chief
A woman from Murarai in West Bengal's Birbhum district has claimed that she and five of her family members were picked up from the Rohini area in Delhi and forcibly deported to Bangladesh. In her video message, shared by Chairperson of the West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board and Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam on Saturday (July 19, 2025), Sweety Bibi appealed to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to help her return to India. 'We were arrested in Delhi, where we had gone to work. We showed our Aadhaar card and pleaded that we were not Bangladeshis, but the police threatened us. They said they will make us Bangladeshis,' Ms. Bibi is heard saying in the video. 'She is a permanent resident of the Murarai Assembly constituency and her family has lived there for generations. But no, she isn't speaking from her ancestral home. She is now in Bangladesh, where she and five others, including three minors, were deported by the Delhi Police,' Mr. Islam said on social media. Referring to remarks made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Durgapur on Friday, when he spoke about 'Bengali asmita [pride]' being paramount to the BJP, the Rajya Sabha MP said, '@narendramodi, you came to Bengal and spoke extensively about infiltration. Let me introduce you to a woman named Sweety Biwi, an Indian citizen from Birbhum — the land of Rabindranath Tagore. In the video, she shares the painful ordeal she's going through.' 'What a tragedy! Despite being Indian citizens, their only 'crime' was speaking Bengali in BJP-ruled Delhi, where they had lived for years,' Mr. Islam said. Sonali Khatun, who is eight months pregnant, is among the group deported to Bangladesh. She has been wandering helplessly in Bangladesh, Mr. Islam said, adding is not the first time residents of West Bengal are being pushed into Bangladesh by security agencies. There have been reports of around half a dozen migrant workers from West Bengal being arrested in different parts of the country and pushed into Bangladesh, and later repatriated to India. Along with the 'push back', there have been reports of detention of migrants in different States like Odisha and Delhi on suspicion of being Bangladesh nationals. Among those detained were members of the Matua community, which comprises Hindu Namasudras who had migrated from Bangladesh. Mr. Islam on Friday (July 18, 2025) had shared a video of Nishikanta Biswas, a resident of Ranaghat in Nadia district hailing from the Matua community, who had said that his sons Manishankar and Nayan were languishing in police custody for the past six months in Maharashtra, where they travelled to find work. The detention of Matua members is significant as the Citizenship (Amendment) Act passed in 2019 and Rules framed in 2024 had granted citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.
The Hindu
5 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
5 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
5 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.
