December 5, 2025
Lok Sabha MP Satabdi Roy’s Zero Hour mention on Bengali migrant workers being harassed across the country for speaking in Bengali
Hon. Chairperson Sir, I wish to draw the attention of the House to a deeply concerning matter. This year, 444 Bengali-speaking migrant workers have been illegally detained in Odisha on the allegation of being Bangladeshis. A majority of them are residents of Murshidabad, Malda, South 24 Parganas, and some are even from my own district of Birbhum. Disturbingly, a pregnant woman has also been deported to Bangladesh. What is even more alarming is that several individuals possessing valid Aadhaar cards and voter identity cards have been subjected to the same treatment. Similarly. In Maharashtra, a Bengali migrant worker has been detained from a tea stall. Labourers and masons working there are being detained as Bangladeshis for speaking Bengali. The Hon’ble Supreme Court has categorically held that no person can be identified, detained, or deported on the basis of language alone
