India News | PM Modi's Remarks on Bengali 'asmita' Pack of Lies: TMC

Kolkata, Jul 18 (PTI) Dubbing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statements during a rally in West Bengal's Durgapur on Friday as a "pack of lies," the TMC launched a scathing attack on the BJP, accusing it of harassing Bengali-speaking migrant labourers in BJP-ruled states while falsely claiming to champion Bengali 'ashmita' (pride).

In a joint press conference at the party headquarters here, senior minister Chandrima Bhattacharya and party's state general secretary Kunal Ghosh claimed that the "anti-Bengal" BJP government at the Centre has withheld Rs 1.7 lakh-crore in dues to the state under schemes such as MGNREGA and PM Awas Yojana, purely for political reasons.

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"They have deprived Bengal of its rightful dues just because the people of this state voted the TMC to power. And now Modi talks about an invisible Rs 5,000 crore grant, which will never be realised," Bhattacharya said.

"Bengalis, who are Indian citizens, are still being branded as Rohingyas and Bangladeshis in BJP-ruled states. While their governments harass and detain our migrant labourers, Modi now talks about Bengali 'ashmita' only because he realises the deep hurt and anguish felt by the average Bengali," Ghosh said.

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"Modi has resorted to falsehoods because he is afraid of losing the support of the average Bengali. In Gujarat, a sweet shop owner had to put up a signboard in Bangla to attract customers, but was forced to clarify that he is not a Bengali. This is what his Viksit Bangla has come to — nothing but a travesty. In states ruled by the BJP, Bengali-speaking Indians are being branded as Rohingiyas," he added.

He also cited several instances of alleged mistreatment of Bengali-speaking citizens across BJP-ruled states.

"In fact, one of his chief ministers openly threatened to send Bengali-speaking people to detention camps just for mentioning Bengali as their language in official forms. How does Modi plan to explain this to the people of Bengal?” Bhattacharya said.

During the rally at Durgapur, Modi asserted that the BJP is the only party that truly respects and protects Bengali pride, and lashed out at the ruling TMC for allegedly enabling infiltration, stoking violence, and driving Bengal's youths out of their home state.

In a blistering attack on the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC, Modi said the BJP government at the Centre had conferred classical language status to Bangla, a recognition that parties like the Congress, the Left, and the TMC "ignored" despite running the governments in Delhi together for years.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)