Dear Mamata Banerjee, why do you hate outsiders rather a lot?
The State of West Bengal beneath the ruling Trinamool Congres (TMC) authorities goes by way of a interval of lawlessness, with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee exacerbating the situation further by stoking sectarianism and ethnic divide.
Since 2019, she has blamed ‘outsiders’ for incidents of violence and unrest that took throughout the State. The objective behind it was to evade obligation for failing to produce safety and security to the residents of West Bengal.
It moreover served one different perform of constructing a magnified sense of fear among the many many Bengali neighborhood that their custom, language and safety are in some way being usurped by migrants from totally different states.
While such regionalism and eventual polarisation have yielded good outcomes for the Mamata Banerjee authorities throughout the 2021 West Bengal elections, it has divided society further and made ‘outsiders’ vulnerable to casual discrimination and real-life assaults.
Mamata Banerjee and her prejudiced remarks in the direction of outsiders
On April 25, 2023, indignant locals throughout the Kaliganj house throughout the Uttar Dinajpur district of West Bengal attacked the police over inaction throughout the alleged rape and murder case of a minor Dalit woman. They have been furious on the cops for inappropriately coping with the ineffective physique of the sufferer.
During a press conference on the following day, Mamata Banerjee went on to slam the Bihari neighborhood for orchestrating the assault. “The manner in which the cops (including female personnel) were attacked and police station was set on fire by goons from Bihar is unpardonable…” the West Bengal CM claimed.
In March this yr, Mamata Banerjee blamed the violence and unrest all through Ram Navami on ‘outsiders.’
“You bring goons-on-hire from outside of Bengal, carry out arson, and orchestrate riots here…We have never stopped you from conducting rallies… Who permitted you to hold rallies with swords and bulldozers?” she talked about all through a protest rally in the direction of the Union authorities.
In December 2021, Banerjee visited Goa and claimed that she did not want ‘outsiders’ to control Goa. “We want BJP to end in Goa. Everyone needs to unite to defeat BJP in Goa. I didn’t come to counter you, I don’t want outsiders to control Goa,” she had talked about.
We want BJP to complete in Goa. Everyone should unite to defeat BJP in Goa. I didn’t come to counter you, I don’t want outsiders to control Goa…I moreover belong to a Brahmin family, I’m a Brahmin. I needn’t take a character certificates from BJP: WB CM Mamata Banerjee in Goa pic.twitter.com/xakvWb0xdI
— ANI (@ANI) December 14, 2021
In the run-up to the 2021 West Bengal Vidhan Sabha polls, Mamata Banerjee used the ‘outsider’ jibe for political constructive components. She tried to consolidate the Bengali vote by first labelling the BJP as a celebration of ‘outsiders‘ (Bohiragoto).
While addressing an election rally in March 2021, she alleged, “They (BJP) have the plan to kill a woman from their party. As you know, they had brought goons from Uttar Pradesh (to Bengal). They will make those goons torture her, blame the State and divide the Hindus and Muslims. Remember this is the plan of the thugs from Bihar and Rajasthan.”
#WATCH | They (BJP) have one different plan to kill a woman from their very personal social gathering with goons they’ve launched from Bihar & UP and put the blame on Bengal. This is their plan: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee pic.twitter.com/KujcL52Xho
— ANI (@ANI) March 30, 2021
“Baira thaka goondara aisa bangla ke dhokhol kora nibe, Banglar sanskriti ke dhokhol kore nabe, banglar asthitya dhokhol kore nabe.(Goons from other States will come here and take over Bengal, destroy its culture and identity),” the incumbent West Bengal Chief Minister alleged all through one different election rally in Nandigram.
She used comparable strategies in 2019 when kin of 1 deceased Mohammed Sayeed attacked medical docs on the NRS Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. When totally different medical docs and hospital staff staged a protest, demanding security and safety, Mamata Banerjee was quick to accuse them of being ‘outsiders.’
“They are outsiders. The government will not support them in any way. I condemn doctors who have gone on strike. Policemen die in the line of duty but the police don’t go on a strike,” Mamata Banerjee had talked about.
Social harmony going for a toss in West Bengal
Due to the dearth of jobs and industries in West Bengal, Bengalis are pressured to take up work in numerous States and cities. They are so-called ‘outsiders’ in these States and resent when dealt with any otherwise from a neighborhood.
Such is the feeling of any migrant dwelling in West Bengal when the Chief Minister overtly espouses hate in the direction of them. But Mamata Banerjee has refused to stop her dangerous rhetoric, which is popping one ethnic group in the direction of one different.
In the hopes that it will help place herself as a ‘mass leader’ of the Bengalis, the West Bengal CM’s vicious narrative is destroying the social cohesion throughout the State.
As a Bengali, I’m thus pressured to ask Mamata Banerjee – Why do you hate outsiders rather a lot?
