TMC Sees Red Over Migrants' Woes Amid ECI's Roll Revision Drive

BJP, ECI targeting Bengali migrants, alleges Mamata Banerjee's party.

- SUPROTIM MUKHERJEE

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has come out guns blazing against the Election Commission of India and the Bharatiya Janata Party, accusing them of targeting Bengali-speaking migrants in the run-up to the Assembly elections in West Bengal next year.

Voters from Bengal who work as migrant labour in other states and their families form a significant vote-base for the TMC.

The number of migrant labour from West Bengal is estimated to be as high as 40 lakh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had cited this figure in a 2019 electoral meeting, attributing it to lack of local job opportunities. Social activists and organizations say the true number might exceed official records because of underreporting.

Even as the Election Commission of India (ECI) is preparing to launch and initiate a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal sometime in August, TMC sources say that the aim is to "disenfranchise these poor and marginalised people who have always supported their party."

"Bengali-speaking migrant workers are being harassed, detained, & labelled 'illegal', even after submitting valid citizenship documents. Despite Smt. @Mamata Official's letter to the Centre demanding immediate intervention, this xenophobic targeting continues with full impunity. We will not stay silent. We will fight this hate-driven persecution with full force," the TMC posted on X.

"These are people who build your cities. Instead of giving them dignity, the BJP is weaponising police and agencies to drive them out like criminals. This is a war on the working class and on Bengalis," a senior TMC leader told The Sunday Guardian.