'Release Bengali workers or face legal action': Mahua Moitra warns Odisha govt

Bhubaneswar, July 9 (IANS) All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) leader and Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra on Wednesday lashed out at the Odisha government, demanding the immediate release of 23 workers from Mirzapur village of Nadia district, who were allegedly detained at holding centres in Jharsuguda for citizenship verification since Monday night.

Around 448 suspected Bangladeshi and Rohingya nationals have been identified and shifted to holding centres in Jharsuguda and Jagatsinghpur districts of the state.

In a video message, the Trinamool Congress MP from West Bengal’s Krishnanagar alleged that 23 workers from her Lok Sabha constituency are being held illegally in an interrogation centre under the Orient police station area of Jharsuguda District.

She stated that a total of 440 Bengali workers are being held, of which 23 are from her area. She further added that the Superintendent of Police, Nadia district, was told by the Jharsuguda SP that the workers from her constituency are being held in a documentation drive.

“All of these 23 workers have valid documentation, Aadhaar cards, EPIC cards, everything they need to work there. India is a union of states, and every single citizen has the right to life and the right to livelihood and the right to work anywhere within the territory of India. Please do not think that there is no one to fight for these workers. There is absolutely no reason to detain them,” stated Moitra.

The Trinamool MP asserted that the workers have produced the valid documents, and they should be released immediately.

“Otherwise, we will file 23 habeas corpus petitions in every court in this land,” threatened Moitra.

She said that such situations didn’t arise during the 24-year rule of the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government, but ever since the BJP came to power, such incidents have become a daily occurrence in Odisha.

“I urge the Orisha government to think about one thing. It is easy for you to prey, to harass, to intimidate poor workers who go to earn a livelihood. Have you ever thought that 50 per cent of Orissa's tourism revenue comes from Bengal? 50 per cent of tourism is from Bengali tourists. Today, if you harass and detain our workers, tomorrow, Bengali tourists will stop going to Orissa. They are the ones who stay at your hotels, who eat at your restaurants, who visit your places of pilgrimage. What will happen?” threatened the MP.

She claimed that 1.3 crore migrant workers from other states currently working in West Bengal are living in peace and harmony.

A senior official of Jharsuguda Police, however, denied the allegations of detention of the suspected Bengali workers. The senior police official clarified that the special drive is being carried out by the Special Task Force of Jharsuguda Police, formed as per the orders of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The suspected workers have been brought in for citizenship verification purposes.

“Once their citizenship is ascertained, they are allowed to leave. Citizenship verification is a complex process,” said the senior cop.

--IANS

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