Trinamul Congress leaders have lambasted the BJP IT chief Amit Malviya after he wrote on social media that there is no language called Bengali.
Trinamul Congress in its X handle wrote: “There is in fact no language called Bengali – This shocking justification by @ BJP4India- run institutions while profiling Bengali migrant workers reflects the regime’s deep rooted hostility towards the Bengali identity. Denying the existence of a constitutionally recognized language is nothing short of a linguistic apartheid. BJP is systematically promoting xenophobia with Bengalis being deliberately targeted across states. Such dangerous narratives must be condemned and resisted at every level.”
Dr Shashi Panja, state minister women and child development and social welfare said: “The attack on the Bengali language is calculated and deliberate. The National Anthem and the National song are both written in Bengali. It is the language that is being spoken by 25 crore people globally and is the second most spoken language in Asia and fifth spoken language in the world. It is one of the 22 languages recognized by the Indian Constitution,” she said, adding, “..the people of Bengal are closely observing the situation and will give a befitting reply in the ballot.”
Kunal Ghosh, Trinamul Congress secretary, said, “Mr Malviya should understand that there is no language called Bangladeshi language. The people of Bengal and Bangladesh speak Bengali,” he said, adding, “The BJP is deliberately trying to confuse people by referring to people speaking Bangladeshi language and infiltration from Bangladesh. The BSF, headed by the Union home minister Amit Shah is assigned to look after the border. The infiltration takes place from Tripura where there is a double-engine government.”
Mr Ghosh said the BJP should know that “when Narendra Modi speaks two lines in Bengal by using teleprompter, it is Bengali language,” he remarked.