Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday reacted sharply to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s allegation that the BJP was pursuing a divisive agenda. Himanta Biswa Sarma clarified that the issue was not with citizens but with “unchecked” Muslim infiltration across the border. Escalating his criticism, Sarma accused Mamata Banerjee of endangering West Bengal’s future by allegedly promoting illegal encroachment by a specific community and appeasing them for political gains.
Himanta Biswa Sarma posted on X, "We are not fighting our own people. We are fearlessly resisting the ongoing, unchecked Muslim infiltration from across the border, which has already caused an alarming demographic shift. In several districts, Hindus are now on the verge of becoming a minority in their own land."
"This is not a political narrative--it's a reality. Even the Supreme Court of India has termed such infiltration as external aggression. And yet, when we rise to defend our land, culture, and identity, you choose to politicise it," he added.
Rejecting allegations of the BJP indulging in a "divisive agenda", Sarma said that all languages and communities coexist in Assam. Still, it was essential to protect the borders and cultural foundation.
"We do not divide people by language or religion. Assamese, Bangla, Bodo, Hindi--all languages and communities have coexisted here. But no civilisation can survive if it refuses to protect its borders and its cultural foundation," he added.
"While we are acting decisively to preserve Assam's identity, you, Didi, have compromised Bengal's future--encouraging illegal encroachment by a particular community, appeasing one religious community for vote banks, and remaining silent as border infiltration eats away at national integrity--all just to stay in power," the Assam CM said.
"Assam will continue to fight to preserve its heritage, its dignity, and its people--with courage and constitutional clarity," he added. Earlier in the day, Banerjee condemned what she described as a "divisive agenda" being pursued by the BJP in Assam, accusing the ruling party of persecuting Bengali-speaking citizens for asserting their linguistic identity.
In a sharply worded statement on X, Mamata said, "The second most spoken language in the country, Bangla, is also the second most spoken language of Assam. To threaten citizens who want to coexist peacefully, respecting all languages and religions, with persecution for upholding their own mother tongue is discriminatory and unconstitutional. This divisive agenda of the BJP in Assam has crossed all limits, and people of Assam will fight back."
She added her support for those standing up for their linguistic and cultural identity. "I stand with every fearless citizen who is fighting for the dignity of their language and identity, and their democratic rights," she said.
This came after the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) affiliated workers' union, the Indian National Trinamool Trade Union Congress (INTTUC), staged a protest march against the National Register of Citizens(NRC) in Siliguri, condemning the alleged harassment and pushback of migrant Bengali-speaking individuals from several BJP-ruled states. (ANI)
Earlier, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee slammed the BJP government in Assam for “threatening” Bengali-speaking people in the northeastern state, who want to “peacefully coexist, respecting all languages and religions”.
Banerjee also asserted that the “divisive agenda” of the BJP in Assam has “crossed all limits”. The TMC supremo has been accusing the Centre and the BJP-ruled states of systematically targeting Bengali-speaking migrants by branding them as “illegal Bangladeshi” or ‘Rohingya’.
“The second most spoken language in the country, Bangla, is also the second most spoken language of Assam. To threaten citizens, who want to coexist peacefully respecting all languages and religions, with persecution for upholding their own mother tongue is discriminatory and unconstitutional.
“This divisive agenda of the BJP in Assam has crossed all limits and people of Assam will fight back. I stand with every fearless citizen who is fighting for the dignity of their language and identity, and their democratic rights,” she said in a post on X.
*With Agency Inputs
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