Kolkata, July 21 -- Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee on Monday attacked Assam Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, for targeting Bengali-speaking people in his state.

She also warned that her party may organise protests in Assam if the situation continues unabated. Speaking at the July 21 Martyrs' Day rally at Dharmatala, she said: "You are unable to handle your own state but you are meddling in affairs of Bengal. If you do not stop interfering in Bengal's matters, we may go to Assam (and stage protests). I will also urge our party leader from Assam, Sushmita Dev to organise protests there if the situation does not change." Incidentally, Assam Chief Minister Biswa Sarma recently made an "outrageous" statement that those who declare Bengali as their mother tongue in census documents are "Bangladeshi" foreigners".

A Foreigners' Tribunal in Assam had also issued a notice to a farmer from Cooch Behar, Uttam Kumar Brajabashi, declaring him an alleged illegal migrant. Bengal Chief Minister Banerjee, in the recent past, had condemned the incident and termed it a "systematic assault on democracy."

Brajabashi, a 50-year-old farmer, had received a notice from the Foreigners Tribunal in Assam's Kamrup district. The notice directed the farmer to submit valid documents to prove he was not an "illegal migrant or foreigner." Addressing a massive gathering on Monday, Banerjee said that Brajabashi, who was present on stage, has been harassed by the Assam government, despite having lived in Cooch Behar for the past 50 years. "We will go to Assam and see how you (Biswa Sarma) can put us in detention camps. We are not against any language. Why will you unleash terror on the people on the basis of the language they speak? An NRC notice was served to Brajabashi who has been living here for the past 50 years. Who has authorised the BJP government in Assam to send NRC notices to residents of Bengal?" Banerjee asked.

Taking a jibe at the BJP government in Assam, Banerjee further said: "A Kali temple was destroyed in Assam. What would the BJP do if the incident had happened in Bengal." It was alleged that the Assam government gave an order for the demolition of a temple in Assam for making way to a riverine port.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.