West Bengal has alleged that nearly 100 migrant workers from the state have been detained and sent to detention centres by Odisha authorities on suspicion of being Bangladeshis.
According to an Indian Express report, TMC Rajya Sabha MP and chairman of West Bengal’s Migrant Welfare Board, Samirul Islam, stated that “top administrative officials and police officers, under the instructions of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, have reached out to their counterparts in Odisha” to address the issue.
“But they are not releasing the poor migrant worker. What has happened is unconstitutional,” he said.
“But they are not releasing the poor migrant worker, what has happened is completely unconstitutional,” he said.
“They are Indian citizens, residents of Bengal, who went to Odisha simply for work. Yet, they’ve been detained, labelled as Bangladeshis, and sent to a detention centre,” he said, asserting that, “We will bring them home.”
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday confirmed the developments and expressed concern, questioning, “Why is this happening every day?”
“Why are they targeting Bengal? The migrant workers with valid documents are confined or detained. Every day, similar incidents are happening. We have recently rescued migrant workers,” she asked.
In May, the BJP-led Odisha government initiated a statewide drive to identify and deport undocumented Bangladeshi migrants residing in the state.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.