Kolkata, February 21 West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday alleged that people speaking Bengali were being harassed and labeled as "infiltrators" in some states, and asserted that her government would not allow anyone's rights to be taken away.
Addressing a programme to mark International Mother Language Day in memory of language martyrs, the chairperson of the Trinamool Congress said that while she respects every language, "no one has the right to disrespect our language in this way."
"We respect every language. Around 1.5 crore people from different states have been living in Bengal in harmony for years. We are committed to safeguarding their interests. Then why are people speaking Bengali being attacked and harassed as infiltrators in several places over the past few months?" she asked.
Banerjee said that Bengal was the land of icons such as Ramakrishna Paramhans, Rabindranath Tagore, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Surya Sen, Rajanikanta Sen, Lalon Fakir, and Swami Vivekananda, and questioned whether speaking in Bengali had become a "crime."
"Why is Bengali pride being disrespected? Why are the rights of Bengalis being snatched?" she said, apparently referring to the deletion of names of people from West Bengal during the Special Intensive Revision exercise of electoral rolls.
Without naming the BJP, she alleged that an "anti-religious, particularly anti-Bengal group" was trying to undermine the state's identity. "Bengali was included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution in 1950. The language did not come from anyone's mercy," she said.
Banerjee also accused central agencies of attempting to "occupy Bengal by force" and said her party would not bow before "draconian powers." "We only bow before the people," she added.
Claiming that a majority of martyrs in the freedom struggle were from Bengal, she said, "You forget this truth because you don't have any such role," in an apparent swipe at the BJP.
The chief minister said that the classical language status for Bengali came later than for some other languages and credited the efforts of the state government and Education Minister Bratya Basu for securing the recognition.
She also alleged that writers and poets from Bengal were being overlooked by the Sahitya Akademi in recent years.
The CM claimed that Sahitya Akademi did not choose any Bengali books last year, since one penned by her was on the list.
Highlighting her government's approach, Banerjee said that recognition had been extended to languages such as Rajbanshi, Nepali, Gurmukhi, Ol Chiki, Hindi, and Urdu in the state.
Describing "Amar Ekushe" as a symbol of humanity, she said it was a tribute to those who laid down their lives for the right to speak and express themselves in their mother tongue.
Earlier in the day, the chief minister laid wreaths at the language martyrs' memorial at Deshapriyo Park. Cultural performances marked the occasion.
