KolkataJuly 19, 2025 20:07 IST
first published: July 19, 2025 15:16 IST
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There was a war of war between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Assam counterpart, Himant Biswa Sarma, on social media to accuse each other on Saturday. While Banerjee said in the “divisive agenda of the BJP in Assam”, saying that it has “crossed all borders”, Sarma hit back, accusing him of compromising the future of the state, “encouraged illegal encroachment by a particular community”.
In a post on X, Banerjee said, “The second most spoken language in the country is also the second most spoken language in Assam. To threaten citizens, who want to peacefully respect all languages and religions, are discriminatory and unconstitutional with oppression to maintain their own mother tongue.”
He said, “This divisive agenda of BJP in Assam has crossed all borders and people of Assam will fight back. I stand with every fearless citizen who is fighting for the dignity of his language and identity and the dignity of their democratic rights,” he said.
The post has come under the backdrop of Banerjee, increasing the issue of alleged misconduct of Bengali migrant laborers in other states like Odisha, Delhi and Assam. He recently called for an integrated protest by all opposition parties, when a farmer in Coochbhar district was told by a tribunal of foreigners of Assam that he was an “illegal immigrant”, who entered the state without legitimate documents between 1966 and 24 March 1971.
Reacting to his post, Sarma said in the X, “Didi, remind me – in Assam, we are not fighting our own people. We are fearlessly opposing the border, unruly Muslim infiltration, which has already caused a dangerous demographic change.
He said, “This is not a political story – this is a reality. Even the Supreme Court of India has stated such infiltration as external aggression. And yet, when we get up to protect our land, culture and identity, you choose to politicize it,” he said.
Sarma said, “We do not divide people by language or religion. Assamese, bungalow, bodo, Hindi -all languages and communities have kept co -existence here. But no civilization can survive if it refuses to protect its borders and its cultural foundation,” Sarma further said.
Hitting in Banerjee, he said, “When we are working decisively to preserve the identity of Assam, you, Didi has compromised on the future of Bengal – to increase illegal encroachment by a particular community, please a religious community for vote banks, and to stay away from national unity to stay away from national unity – to stay away from national unity – to stay away from national unity.”
Assam said that Assam “will continue to fight to fight to preserve his legacy, its dignity and its people.
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