By Mamata Banerjee
Copyright thehindu
More reports of harassment of migrant workers from West Bengal have surfaced in different parts of the country. A group of migrant workers from State’s Murshidabad district said that they were attacked at Tiruvallur district in Tamil Nadu on September 13, 2025.
At least four workers who were part of a group of 12 workers were injured in an attack and had to be hospitalised.
“A group of locals attacked us. They wanted to kill us. We have been working in Tamil Nadu for about four years but never faced any problem,” Mustafijur Rahman said, lying on a bed in a state-run hospital. The 25-year-old migrant worker said they were attacked for resisting a theft in a premises where they were staying. The migrant workers, however, added that the police officers have recorded their statement after they approached the West Bengal Government and the West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board.
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In another development a migrant worker from Sandeshkhali Tapchhel Jamadar (27), along with several other youths from the area, got “brutally attacked” on September 13 at Tatanagar railway station in Jharkhand, allegedly for speaking in Bengali. The men said they had just reached Tatanagar station and were speaking in Bengali among themselves when local youths reportedly targeted them, assaulting them physically and with sharp weapons.
While there have been instances of harassment of migrant workers from West Bengal by police and security agencies in the BJP ruled states, both Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand, where the recent incidents of harassment of migrants have come to the fore, are not ruled by the BJP. Thousands of migrant workers from the State were detained on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals and the issue has become a major rallying point for the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal.
Meanwhile, Samirul Islam, the chairperson of the West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board, said that on Monday (September 15, 2025), he visited the distressed father of pregnant Sunali Khatun and the mother of Sweaty Biwi in their remote Murarai home, Birbhum district. Both these women were detained in Delhi and pushed into Bangladesh on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals.
“About two months ago their daughters—both bona fide Indian citizens—were illegally pushed back into Bangladesh. Though their families have lived in Birbhum for generations, the women were expelled from the border along with their children. Under the leadership of our Chief Minister @MamataOfficial, we are fighting this in the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court of India,” Mr. Islam posted on social media.
The Trinamool Congress MP said that he assured the families that he will bring their daughters home and that they will be enrolled in the Shramashree scheme launched by Mamata Banerjee as soon as they return.
The West Bengal Government has launched the Shramashree scheme to provide a monthly stipend of ₹5,000 per month for a year for migrant workers who have returned to the State after being persecuted in other states. According to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, there are over 22 lakh migrant workers from the State working in other parts of India and about 24,000 have returned to the State.
