New Delhi: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Samirul Islam raised a question on Thursday as to which documents are required to prove Indian citizenship, while claiming that Bengali-speaking migrants from West Bengal are facing harassment in neighbouring Odisha.
The TMC MP, who has been raising the issue of Bengali-speaking migrants being dubbed as Bangladeshis in different states, shared a letter written by West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant to his Odisha counterpart, Manoj Ahuja, stating that authorities in the neighbouring state are refusing to accept centrally-issued identity documents like Aadhaar and Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC).
“Today West Bengal Chief Secretary Shri Manoj Pant wrote to his Odisha counterpart urging him to put an end to harassment of Bengali-speaking migrant workers. The Odisha authorities refused to accept any centrally issued identity documents like Aadhar and EPIC, and demanded verification from the Bengal government,” Islam said in a post on X.
In his letter to Ahuja, Pant said Bengali-speaking migrants are being harassed in Odisha, adding that they are unjustly being labelled as Bangladeshis because of their mother tongue.
In his post, Islam said police in Odisha are refusing to release migrant workers, even though the West Bengal government has provided the required details — verified and furnished by the district magistrates and superintendents of police of various districts.
“But even that failed to satisfy them. Next, they asked for the electoral roll where the names of these individuals were listed. Once again, the Bengal administration complied and sent the relevant documents,” he said.
“Now, Odisha has no further demands — but still, their police are refusing to release these poor migrant workers, in many cases. They are detaining those migrant workers illegally after 24 hours, without producing them before the court,” the TMC leader added.
“I humbly ask Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, what specific document do you require to recognise these poor citizens as Indians? What more do you want?” he asked.
“And to all my fellow Indians: Do you have any other way to prove your Indian citizenship beyond what these workers have already provided? Some might say they should carry passports. But let me tell you — shockingly, even passports are being rejected by BJP ruled Delhi government when they detained a few migrant workers from Cooch Behar,” Islam said.
He pointed out that thousands of people from Odisha live and work peacefully in West Bengal.
“Not once has the West Bengal government treated them with even a fraction of the hostility that Odisha is showing now. That’s because our Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee believes in diversity and strives to maintain harmony in every sense,” the TMC MP said.
“I sincerely urge the Odisha government and the BJP: do not play with fire. If you ignite the politics of hatred, you may end up being consumed by your own flames,” he added.
