Amit Malviya Defends Delhi Police Over 'Bangladeshi Language' Row
“Delhi Police is absolutely right in referring to the language as Bangladeshi in the context of identifying infiltrators”: Amit Malviya - BJP IT cell chief
KOLKATA: A day after the controversy broke out over the reference of Bengali language as ‘Bangladeshi language’ in a Delhi Police letter, BJP leader Amit Malviya, unlike his party colleagues in West Bengal, appeared to have added fuel to the fire in his desperate bid to defend the cops.
On Monday, Mr Malviya, who is the BJP IT cell chief, alleged on X-handle that there has been “no language called Bengali” in a long post to counter West Bengal chief minister and Trinamul Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee's protest on Sunday over the issue.
He first wrote, “...Delhi Police is absolutely right in referring to the language as Bangladeshi in the context of identifying infiltrators…” and then shared his narrative about Bengali language adding, “There is, in fact, no language called “Bengali” that neatly covers all these variants…”
TMC, which has been extremely vocal since Sunday over the controversy, hit back at Mr Malviya. Quoting him, it stated, “There is, in fact, no language called Bengali” — This shocking justification by @BJP4India-run institutions while profiling Bengali migrant workers reflects the regime’s deep-rooted hostility towards the Bengali identity.”
The ruling party added, “Denying the existence of a constitutionally recognised language is nothing short of linguistic apartheid. BJP is systematically promoting xenophobia and othering, with Bengalis being deliberately targeted across states. Such dangerous narratives must be condemned and resisted at every level.”
The controversy also leaped out of the political theatre during the day when veteran Tollywood actor Prosenjit Chatterjee came out in support of his mother tongue. He said on the sidelines of an event, “The CM has already circulated a message. Bengali language was there, is there and will be there. We are also ready to fight any battle for it.”
