Mamata vows to fight BJP's 'linguistic terrorism'

KOLKATA: Invoking 'Bengali asmita' as her rallying cry for the 2026 Bengal Assembly polls, Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee on Monday launched a fierce attack on the BJP, accusing it of waging "linguistic terrorism" against migrant Bengalis.

- PRADIP CHATTERJEE

Addressing a massive Martyrs' Day rally in the heart of Kolkata, Banerjee also announced the launch of a "Bhasa Andolon" (Language Movement) across Bengal starting July 27, warning that if linguistic profiling and the torture of Bengali-speaking people continue in BJP-ruled states, a massive protest will be taken to Delhi.

With fiery resolve, she vowed to wage an unyielding battle to defend the Bengali identity and mother tongue — a fight, she declared, that would not stop until the saffron party was ousted.

The first Language Movement took place in 1952 in erstwhile East Bengal (now Bangladesh), when protesters demanded that Bengali be recognised as one of the official languages of Pakistan.

Chalking out a roadmap for her party, Banerjee said that the ruling Trinamool Congress will come to power with more seats in the 2026 Assembly elections, and then a march to Delhi will begin to oust the BJP from power at the Centre.

"There will be a language movement against the BJP's terrorism on the Bengali language. The protest will be carried out in every block on each Saturday and Sunday till the elections are held to protest the attack on Bengali-speaking language in BJP-ruled states," Banerjee said.