A fresh political flashpoint erupted on Saturday between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma over the alleged targeting of Bengali-speaking people in Assam. Mamata accused the BJP-led Assam government of pursuing a “divisive agenda,” while Sarma countered the charge, asserting the state’s efforts were aimed at curbing “unchecked illegal infiltration.”
Taking to social media platform X, Mamata condemned what she called “threats” to Bengali-speaking citizens in Assam who wish to coexist peacefully.
“The second most spoken language in the country, Bangla, is also the second most spoken language of Assam. To threaten citizens, who want to coexist peacefully respecting all languages and religions, with persecution for upholding their own mother tongue is discriminatory and unconstitutional,” she wrote.
The TMC supremo alleged that the BJP’s divisive policies in Assam have “crossed all limits.”I stand with every fearless citizen who is fighting for the dignity of their language and identity and their democratic rights,” she added.
In a swift and sharp rebuttal, Sarma dismissed the allegations, stating that the state’s actions were not targeted at its own citizens but were aimed at countering illegal migration from across the border.
“In Assam, we are not fighting our own people. We are fearlessly resisting the ongoing, unchecked Muslim infiltration from across the border, which has already caused an alarming demographic shift. In several districts, Hindus are now on the verge of becoming a minority in their own land,” Sarma wrote on X.
Defending Assam’s policy measures, Sarma said, “Even the Supreme Court has termed such infiltration as external aggression. When we act to defend our land, culture, and identity, you choose to politicise it.”
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He also accused Mamata of appeasement politics and compromising Bengal’s future. “While we are acting decisively to preserve Assam’s identity, you, Didi, have compromised Bengal’s future—encouraging illegal encroachment by a particular community, appeasing one religious community for vote banks, and remaining silent as border infiltration eats away at national integrity—all just to stay in power.”
Sarma insisted that Assam has always respected all communities and languages including Assamese, Bangla, Bodo, and Hindi, but “no civilisation can survive if it refuses to protect its borders and cultural foundation.”
The TMC leadership has repeatedly accused the BJP-led Centre and several state governments of targeting Bengali-speaking migrants by branding them as “illegal Bangladeshis” or “Rohingyas,” a charge the saffron party has consistently denied.
The political war of words comes amid growing concerns over identity, language, and migration in the northeastern region, further intensifying the Centre-state fault lines ahead of upcoming elections.
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