Rajasthan releases Bengali workers after Mamata govt's intervention

Kolkata: All the migrant workers from West Bengal's Itahar, who were confined in a building in Rajasthan, have been released following the intervention of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and chief secretary Manoj Pant, who co-ordinated their release with his Rajasthan counterpart.

Banerjee had alleged on Tuesday that around 300-400 Bengali-speaking migrant workers have been labelled as 'Bangladeshis' and detained in a building in BJP-ruled Rajasthan, despite having valid documents showing their Indian citizenship. Accusing BJP of resorting to linguistic politics, she had even promised to draw the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the matter.

One of the labourers has confirmed that they were released after intervention from the Bengal government. "After chief secretary-level talks between the two states, the migrant workers from West Bengal were released. The workers have contacted me after their release, and I have spoken to them and their families also. They are staying in Rajasthan now and not returning to Itahar," Itahar MLA Mosaraf Hussen (Trinamool) told ET.

Hussen said, "After intervention by our CM and discussions by the chief secretary with his Rajasthan counterpart, the matter was resolved and they were released yesterday itself. I will return to my constituency and meet the family members," he said.

Banerjee said there were 22 lakh migrant workers from Bengal working in different states. "We have 1.5 crore migrant labourers in Bengal. Workers from all other states come here to work and we never disrespect them. Why do Bengali-speaking workers get disrespected in other states? Is it a crime to speak in Bengali?" the chief minister said.