HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, July 19: A political war of words has erupted between Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, as both leaders exchanged sharp remarks over issues of infiltration, language rights, and identity.
In a strongly worded post on X on Saturday, Sarma accused Banerjee of enabling demographic shifts in Bengal through what he called “unchecked Muslim infiltration” from across the international border for political gain.
Related Posts:
He claimed that Assam, unlike Bengal, is not battling its own people but confronting a demographic crisis that threatens to turn Hindus into minorities in several districts of the state.
Sarma cited a past Supreme Court observation, calling the influx an act of “external aggression,” and insisted that the issue is not a political narrative but a lived reality in Assam.
“When we rise to defend our land, culture, and identity, you choose to politicise it,” he wrote in a direct message to Banerjee, alleging she had “compromised Bengal’s future” for vote bank politics.
Defending Assam’s pluralistic ethos, Sarma stated that Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, and Hindi-speaking communities have long coexisted peacefully in the state.
However, he asserted that no civilization can sustain itself without protecting its borders and cultural foundations.
“Assam will continue to fight to preserve its heritage and dignity with constitutional clarity,” he said.
The remarks came shortly after Mamata Banerjee launched her own attack on the BJP-led Assam government, accusing it of discrimination against Bengali-speaking citizens.
In a post earlier on Saturday, Banerjee said, “Bangla, the second most spoken language in India, is also the second most spoken in Assam. To threaten citizens for upholding their mother tongue is both discriminatory and unconstitutional.”
She condemned what she described as the BJP’s “divisive agenda” in Assam, asserting that such politics had crossed all limits.
“I stand with every fearless citizen fighting for the dignity of their language, identity, and democratic rights,” she added.
The escalating exchange underscores deepening political tensions between the BJP in Assam and the Trinamool Congress in Bengal, with both states now at odds over sensitive issues ranging from linguistic rights and cultural identity to migration and national security.
