Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently strongly rejected West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s accusations that Bengali-speaking Indian citizens are being unfairly targeted in Assam. Sarma clarified that his government’s campaign is aimed squarely at illegal migrants and not at any linguistic or ethnic community.
Banerjee, during a recent public meeting in West Bengal, had alleged that the Assam government was harassing Bengalis in the name of fighting illegal immigration. She claimed, “People who speak Bengali are being labelled as infiltrators in Assam. This is an insult to our language and our culture.” She also accused the BJP-led government of conducting a divisive agenda under the guise of population control and border security.
Responding sharply to these remarks, Sarma said on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), “CM Mamata Banerjee’s attempt to protect infiltrators under the garb of linguistic identity is a classic case of vote bank politics.” He stressed that the issue at hand is illegal immigration across India’s porous international border, particularly from Bangladesh, and not an attack on Indian citizens who speak Bengali.
He further wrote, “The Hon’ble Supreme Court has termed infiltration as an act of external aggression and war. Assam shall continue to fight infiltration to protect its cultural, political, and demographic identity.”
Sarma has consistently maintained that unchecked illegal immigration poses a long-term threat to Assam’s socio-political fabric. In previous statements, he has pointed to changing population patterns in certain districts as evidence of “silent demographic aggression.”
The Assam government, under his leadership, has intensified efforts to detect illegal immigrants through the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), border fencing, and eviction drives targeting settlements established on government or forest land. These measures have often drawn criticism from rights groups and opposition leaders, who argue they disproportionately affect minority communities.
Friday’s exchange between the two Chief Ministers underscores the simmering political tensions between Assam and West Bengal, especially on the sensitive issue of identity, citizenship, and border security in the northeastern region. With the 2026 assembly elections in West Bengal on the horizon, the confrontation is expected to sharpen further.
