West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, MP Abhishek Banerjee Lead Rally Against Detention Of Bengal Migrant Workers

West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Chhattisgarh government of unlawfully detaining eight migrant workers from Nadia district. The TMC claims these workers, who were employed in Bastar, were taken without any notification to their families or the West Bengal authorities. Their phones were confiscated, and they were imprisoned.

TMC president and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and MP Abhishek Banerjee led the protest rally in Kolkata. This demonstration is against the alleged detention of West Bengal migrants, who are being labelled as undocumented Bangladeshis for deportation purposes.

Political Tensions Rise

Media reports indicate that the Kondagaon police superintendent, Akshay Kumar, confirmed the release of all eight men on Monday evening. The Chhattisgarh Police stated that the men were detained due to their inability to present identity documents even after a month in the region.

Partha Pratim Roy, a former TMC Lok Sabha member from Cooch Behar, highlighted similar detentions in states like Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Delhi. He mentioned a man named Siroz Alam Mian, who was detained despite working in Delhi for years.

Accusations and Counterclaims

The BJP has accused the TMC of aiding "illegal Muslim immigrants" by helping them obtain fake identity documents for electoral benefits. In response, Debangshu Bhattacharya from TMC's social media cell questioned Assam's targeting of Bengali Hindus in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) list.

Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam's chief minister, defended his stance on X. He stated that Assam is committed to combating illegal Bangladeshi Muslim infiltration. Sarma accused TMC of distorting his remarks to protect these infiltrators.

Legal Proceedings and Protests

The Delhi government is set to submit its report to the Calcutta High Court regarding the alleged detention of six individuals from two migrant families from West Bengal. These families were detained in June on charges of being undocumented Bangladeshi immigrants.

The TMC has also filed a police complaint against Himanta Biswa Sarma in Cooch Behar. They allege he is targeting Bengali-speaking people in Assam. Such incidents have sparked political tensions ahead of West Bengal's 2026 assembly elections.