Around 50 migrant workers attended a convention at the CPI(M) Odisha state committee office in Bhubaneswar on Thursday, alleging harassment and attacks while working at various sites across Odisha.
“We are from Bengal. We are not Bangladeshis or Rohingyas. Why are we being targeted in Odisha?” questioned Sk. Abu Rahim, a labour contractor under whom nearly 80 people work at construction sites in Bhubaneswar.
Rahim, 37, was speaking at the State-level Migrant Workers’ Convention organised by the Centre of Indian Trade Union’s (Citu) Odisha unit at the CPI(M) office.
Rahim said he skipped work to share his anguish. “One of my friends was attacked near KIIT Square last week. While he was having tea, a few men approached him and asked for his voter identity card. When he replied in Bengali — the only language he knows — they suddenly slapped him and left.”
“I have been working here for the last 12 years. It had never been an issue earlier. But things have changed with the change of regime. As Indians, don’t we have the right to earn our livelihood peacefully in Odisha?” he added.
Another worker shared a similar experience and said he was living in fear. “It is about rozi-roti, a matter of livelihood. That’s why we come here. Just as people from Odisha work in Bengal, we come here to work in Odisha. What is wrong with that? Why are we being targeted?” he asked.
General secretary of the West Bengal Migrant Workers’ Union, Ashadullah Gayen, said there were no exact statistics on how many workers from Bengal were in Odisha, but roughly eight lakh people were employed across sectors ranging from construction to hawking.
“Many hawkers now fear going to villages to sell their products and have stopped moving around. Those engaged at construction sites have returned, but they remain scared,” Gayen said.
He warned that the workers’ union would intensify its response if attacks continued. “Enough is enough. If there is another attack, we will stop work and ensure that the police take action.”
Gayen alleged that political parties were instigating cadres to attack migrant workers. “Even a migrant worker was lynched in Sambalpur in December 2025. Arrests alone are not enough — exemplary punishment is needed,” he said.
Human rights activist and Citu state secretary Pradeep Nayak said Odisha depended on workers from Bengal for high-rise construction, which was why they were attacked less frequently than hawkers.
“Hawkers are soft targets. Hindutva outfits accuse them of working against the country, beat them and even snatch their phones. The state government must stop this vandalism. Who has authorised these groups to demand Aadhaar cards?” he asked.
“Migrant workers have fundamental rights. People from Odisha also work in Bengal as traders and domestic helpers. Who are you to question their identity in a country of 145 crore people? All the vandalism must stop,” Nayak added.
He said the state’s Human Rights Commission had also asked the DGP to stop such incidents and ensure that no private individual or association took the law into their hands to punish people for belonging to a different caste, religion or state.
All India vice-president of Citu, Bishnu Mohanty, said the organisation would continue mobilising migrant workers. “We demand safety and security for migrant workers. We will organise them both within Odisha and outside,” he said.