Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging immediate intervention over what he described as growing instances of harassment, detention, and abuse of Bengali-speaking migrant workers in various Indian states, including Odisha and Maharashtra.
In his letter, Chowdhury alleged that many labourers from West Bengal working on a daily basis in these states are being unlawfully detained, physically assaulted, and falsely labelled as Bangladeshi nationals. “These workers are Indian citizens. Yet, they are being targeted solely based on their language and appearance. Punitive actions are being taken against them without any evidence,” the letter stated, adding that such treatment violates their constitutional rights. Mr Chowdhury highlighted that the affected workers largely belong to poor and marginalised communities and contribute significantly to the revenue of their home state. “Language and ethnic identity are being criminalised in these cases,” he wrote. Appealing to Modi, the Congress MP said, “It is the duty of your government to ensure the livelihood and security of all Indian citizens. I urge you to treat this matter with utmost seriousness and direct the relevant ministries to take necessary action.”
He specifically called on the ministries of labour and home affairs to ensure that inter-state migrant workers from West Bengal are recognised as legitimate Indian citizens and are not subjected to arbitrary harassment or humiliation. In a veiled attack on West Bengal’s ruling Trinamul Congress, Chowdhury accused chief minister Mamata Banerjee of ignoring the plight of migrant workers.
“They are being branded as Bangladeshis in several states. Has the chief minister visited any of these states? Protesting in mango orchards and jamun groves of Bengal won’t help,” he remarked. The Congress leader’s letter adds to the political pressure over rising concerns around linguistic and regional profiling of migrant labourers in India.