Kolkata: Kindling the ‘ Bengali asmita’ once again, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said she would fiercely safeguard her motherland if it is attacked and insulted, especially in the context of migrant Bengali workers getting detained and the Bengali language coming under attack.
“We will not tolerate terrorism on the Bengali language. An economic blockade has been created in Bengal by stopping funds by the Centre,” she said. “If you disrespect Bengal, I will fight back. I will tolerate it if you abuse and defame me, and even conspire against me. But you cannot insult my Bengali motherland," Banerjee said, addressing a public event in Purba Bardhaman. She was speaking in the context of the recent PM’s comments slamming the state’s Trinamool government for corruption.
“Earlier, they used to say that Mamata Banerjee does not allow Durga Puja in Bengal. Now they are saying ‘Joy Ma durga’ louder than us, they are migratory vote birds. They have one religion...one imaginary Hindu religion, not the Hindu religion of Ramkrishna Deb,” she said.
Referring to BJP leadership’s frequent visit to Bengal, Banerjee said, “You are coming to Bengal like migratory birds ahead of the assembly polls. I want you to come to Bengal throughout the year”.
Regarding the Election Commission, she said: “When elections are around, they bring up the NRC and try to strike off names from the voter list. ECI, I respect you, but please do not be BJP’s lollipop. If you do this, the people of the country will not forgive you.”
She spoke of the contributions of Bengalis and their worth in global institutions like Harvard, Oxford, Columbia, and San Francisco and compared it to the alleged displacement of Gujaratis by US President Donald Trump. “Trump chased away Gujaratis, but places like Harvard, Oxford, Columbia, San Francisco can't run without Bengalis”, she said.
Banerjee reminded people about the contribution of Bengalis like Rabindranath Tagore and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in the freedom struggle.
“In Andaman Cellular Jail, over 700 Bengalis were imprisoned for the freedom struggle…mostly Bengalis and Punjabis. They knew that they could not suppress Bengal, that is why they divided Bengal and Punjab,” she said.
Talking about Bengali-speaking migrants being labelled as Bangladeshis, Banerjee said, “Bengali has various dialects and the accent and language changes as we travel from Murshidabad to Birbhum.”
“They (BJP) said that Bengal is populated with Bangladeshis. It is not our fault that Bengali is the language of Bengal and that it is also spoken in Bangladesh," Banerjee stated. Meanwhile, she once again urged Bengal's migrant workers to come back and elaborated on her government’s “Sramashree” scheme. Modi had spoken about demographic change and infiltration in a public rally on August 22.
“If people speak in Bengali, they are refused at hotels, not allowed to work in other states? They cannot tolerate Bengal. There are two national anthems in Bengali –– India’s and Bangladesh’s,” she said.
“I have been an MP seven times, I could have drawn a pension worth Rs 2.5 lakh over 14 years but I did not take a penny. Yet no one remembers this. I pay for the circuit houses where I stay. I use the royalty I earn from writing books,” Banerjee said.
“We will not tolerate terrorism on the Bengali language. An economic blockade has been created in Bengal by stopping funds by the Centre,” she said. “If you disrespect Bengal, I will fight back. I will tolerate it if you abuse and defame me, and even conspire against me. But you cannot insult my Bengali motherland," Banerjee said, addressing a public event in Purba Bardhaman. She was speaking in the context of the recent PM’s comments slamming the state’s Trinamool government for corruption.
“Earlier, they used to say that Mamata Banerjee does not allow Durga Puja in Bengal. Now they are saying ‘Joy Ma durga’ louder than us, they are migratory vote birds. They have one religion...one imaginary Hindu religion, not the Hindu religion of Ramkrishna Deb,” she said.
Referring to BJP leadership’s frequent visit to Bengal, Banerjee said, “You are coming to Bengal like migratory birds ahead of the assembly polls. I want you to come to Bengal throughout the year”.
Regarding the Election Commission, she said: “When elections are around, they bring up the NRC and try to strike off names from the voter list. ECI, I respect you, but please do not be BJP’s lollipop. If you do this, the people of the country will not forgive you.”
She spoke of the contributions of Bengalis and their worth in global institutions like Harvard, Oxford, Columbia, and San Francisco and compared it to the alleged displacement of Gujaratis by US President Donald Trump. “Trump chased away Gujaratis, but places like Harvard, Oxford, Columbia, San Francisco can't run without Bengalis”, she said.
Banerjee reminded people about the contribution of Bengalis like Rabindranath Tagore and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in the freedom struggle.
“In Andaman Cellular Jail, over 700 Bengalis were imprisoned for the freedom struggle…mostly Bengalis and Punjabis. They knew that they could not suppress Bengal, that is why they divided Bengal and Punjab,” she said.
Talking about Bengali-speaking migrants being labelled as Bangladeshis, Banerjee said, “Bengali has various dialects and the accent and language changes as we travel from Murshidabad to Birbhum.”
“They (BJP) said that Bengal is populated with Bangladeshis. It is not our fault that Bengali is the language of Bengal and that it is also spoken in Bangladesh," Banerjee stated. Meanwhile, she once again urged Bengal's migrant workers to come back and elaborated on her government’s “Sramashree” scheme. Modi had spoken about demographic change and infiltration in a public rally on August 22.
“If people speak in Bengali, they are refused at hotels, not allowed to work in other states? They cannot tolerate Bengal. There are two national anthems in Bengali –– India’s and Bangladesh’s,” she said.
“I have been an MP seven times, I could have drawn a pension worth Rs 2.5 lakh over 14 years but I did not take a penny. Yet no one remembers this. I pay for the circuit houses where I stay. I use the royalty I earn from writing books,” Banerjee said.
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