Mamata Banerjee to launch Bhasha Andolan in Birbhum over alleged anti-Bengali bias

CM Mamata Banerjee will lead a rally from Bolpur and address workers, invoking the legacy of Rabindranath Tagore

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will on Monday kick off her “weekly protest movement” against the alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking people in BJP-ruled states.

She will lead a protest rally there in Birbhum district. The reason for choosing Birbhum as the starting venue of the protest, which Mamata Banerjee describes as another “Bhasha Andolan (Language Movement)”, is the district’s rich association with Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore and the Gurudev-founded Visva Bharati University at Bolpur-Santiniketan in the district.

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Political observers believe that Mamata Banerjee has deliberately chosen the district as the starting venue to capitalise on Bengali nostalgia associated with Gurudev.

The Chief Minister has started facing criticisms about labelling the protest as “Bhasha Andolan”, since, historically, Bhasha Andolan was a political movement in what was then East Pakistan. It was a campaign advocating for the recognition of the Bengali language as an official language, which ultimately led to the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent nation after erstwhile East Pakistan was liberated from Pakistan in 1971

At the event, Mamata Banerjee is likely to air her reservations on the special intensive revision (SIR) of West Bengal’s electoral rolls ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls. The SIR exercise is ongoing in neighbouring Bihar, where Assembly elections will be held before the end of this year.

As per the Chief Minister’s office, Banerjee will reach Birbhum district on Sunday night. On Monday, she will attend an administrative meeting in Bolpur, where she will do online inauguration of several government projects.

Later in the day, CM Banerjee will launch the Bhasha Andolan march in Bolpur-Santiniketan.

“The Chief Minister will hold an administrative meeting at Gitanjali Theatre in the afternoon tomorrow. Following that, she will join the language movement procession. The procession of about three kilometres will commence from the Tourist Lodge crossing in Bolpur to Jamboni bus stand,” said a state government official.

The CM will also garland the statue of Rabindranath Tagore at Jamboni and address the gathering from a makeshift stage. From there, the Trinamool Congress chief is likely to give a clarion call to her party leaders and workers to fight against the alleged high-handedness of the BJP and put an end to the alleged discrimination against Bengalis in the country.

“We are expecting direction from Banerjee at tomorrow’s protest rally on how to counter the BJP. This attack on migrant workers from Bengal has to stop. We are ready to start the movement,” said Trinamool Congress’s Birbhum district committee chairperson, Asish Banerjee.

The Chief Minister is scheduled to return to Kolkata from Birbhum on Tuesday. Before that, she will attend a government programme in Ilambazar of Birbhum district.

The Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, slammed CM Banerjee for her protest against the BJP.

“She is doing this to stop the Election Commission of India from conducting SIR in West Bengal. She wants to support Rohingya and Bangladeshi Muslim infiltrators, as they are her dedicated vote bank. If SIR takes place, then these false voters and infiltrators will be removed from the voter’s list. Scared by this, Mamata Banerjee is fighting tooth and nail to stop SIR in Bengal. But let me make it very clear that those who have entered the state illegally will be pushed back,” said Adhikari.