KOLKATA — West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday announced that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) will launch weekend protest programmes across the state starting July 27, in response to the alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking people in BJP-ruled states.
She described this protest programme as yet another “Bhasha Andolon” (Language Movement).
Historically, “Bhasha Andolan” was a political movement in what was then East Pakistan, advocating for the recognition of Bangla as an official language of the country, which ultimately led to the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent nation after erstwhile East Pakistan was liberated from Pakistan in 1971.
“The weekend protests on every Saturday and Sunday will start throughout West Bengal from July 27 and will continue till the state Assembly elections next year. This will be another ‘Bhasha Andolon’. We will not tolerate any attack on the Bengali language. We are getting information that Bengali-speaking people are selectively targeted, harassed, and detained in BJP-ruled states,” the Chief Minister said while addressing Trinamool Congress’s annual Martyrs’ Day rally in central Kolkata on Monday afternoon..
Speaking on the occasion, she gave a call to Bengali-speaking people nationwide to participate in the protests from their respective places by speaking in the Bengali language to the maximum possible extent.
“Organise protest programmes in your way against this attack on the Bengali language. Speak in Bangla as much as possible. Let us together take an oath to protect the language, which is the second most-spoken language in India and Asia and the fifth most-spoken language in the world,” the Chief Minister said.
She also cautioned the BJP that the second ‘Bhasha Andolon’ could not be suppressed by the use of force, and Trinamool Congress could not be stopped from leading the movement.
“Trinamool Congress’s asset is that the party is the product of spontaneous love of the people of Bengal. Those who think that by abusing me and Abhishek, they will finish Trinamool Congress are mistaken. They will not be able to finish us by unleashing central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against us,” the Chief Minister said.
She also launched a scathing attack against the Union Government, accusing the latter of deliberately stopping payments under various centrally-sponsored schemes to the West Bengal government.
“However, despite that, we are carrying on with those projects in West Bengal from our funds. This we are doing despite paucity of funds,” the Chief Minister said. — IANS
