BJP-governed states crossing federal boundaries: Mamata

Kolkata: BJP-governed states were violating "federal boundaries", CM Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday, citing that a homemaker from Alipurduar had received an NRC notice from the Assam Foreigners Tribunal, asking her to prove she was not an illegal infiltrator.She also said Haryana had directly asked Bengal district magistrates and police superintendents to verify the identities of 52 people detained in Gurgaon on suspicion of being Bangladeshi.Speaking at Nabanna, Banerjee said: "Anjali Sil, wife of Nitya Sil from Falakata, received a letter from the Foreigners Tribunal in Kokrajhar. The letter, written in Assamese, directs her to appear before the tribunal by Aug 19 and prove her citizenship. This is unacceptable. How can Assam authorities send such a notice to a resident of Bengal? This violates federal boundaries."Urging BJP's "double-engine govt" to focus on its own issues, the CM said: "They are causing riots, evicting people and demolishing Kali temples. This way, the country will become divided and its strong foundation will be destroyed. We do not want that."Banerjee alleged that Haryana police had sought background checks on 52 migrants from Bengal. Holding up a six-page document, she said: "DMs and SPs in multiple districts, including Malda, South Dinajpur, North Dinajpur, Nadia, Murshidabad, Cooch Behar and North 24 Parganas, have been instructed to verify the names of individuals and inform them per MHA guidelines. Is this a deliberate attempt to take control of Bengal by force? Are they trying to erase the identity of the state? Is this a new form of linguistic terrorism?"The CM questioned BJP's "discomfort" over people from Bengal working in other states. "More than 1.5 crore people from other states work in Bengal, including businessmen. Our people are also working across India. That is their constitutional right. Why is it a problem when Bengalis work outside?" she said.She said people from the state were being detained in Assam, Gurgaon, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi. "Why this anger towards Bengal? Why this constant targeting? Is speaking in Bengali a crime now?" Banerjee asked.Referring to violence in other parts of India, Banerjee questioned the Centre's priorities, saying: "The Manipur situation remains unresolved. Terrorists in Pahalgam were not arrested. Yet, Bengal is being targeted."She stressed that unity in diversity was a core value of the country and urged BJP to focus on governance. "We studied Bengali, Hindi and Sanskrit in school. We are not against any language. But don't suppress ours," she said.Banerjee indicated that Trinamool MPs would raise the issue of language rights in Parliament and mentioned plans to address the topic during her visit to Birbhum on July 27 and 28. "Over 30 crore people speak Bengali across the world. This is not just about language. It's about identity, rights and dignity," she said.Also on Tuesday, Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam provided land deeds going back to the 1950s to prove that six Birbhum residents, including three minors, who were nabbed by Delhi cops on June 18 and sent to Bangladesh on June 26, were Indian citizens. Calcutta High Court is hearing a habeas corpus petition on the matter.Islam, who is also chairman of the state migrant workers' welfare board, wrote on X, "Attached here are land documents belonging to Sweety Biwi's maternal and paternal grandfathers Jamiruddin Khan and Babu Sheikh and Sonali Biwi's paternal great-grandfather, Munkhush Sheikh — all dated 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Anyone in BJP who can actually read them will understand that these women are far more Indian than the loudmouth BJP touts slandering them."