Trinamool Congress MP and national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday raised the issue of migrant workers' torture during his visit to South Dinajpur, the home turf of Union minister of state and former state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar.
Abhishek visited the residence of Asit Sarkar, a migrant worker from Balurghat block, where fellow migrant worker Gautam Barman was also present. Last year, Sarkar and Barman had been working in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra, in an imitation jewellery firm when they were arrested by local police on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals.
Sarkar and Barman spent nearly seven months in jail before Abhishek intervened to facilitate their release. They returned home by December-end.
“They were harassed and assaulted for speaking in Bengali. Despite being born in Bengal, they were booked under the Foreigners’ Act and branded as Bangladeshis. We intervened after they had already spent four months in jail, and it took another three months to secure their release,” Abhishek said, standing alongside the duo.
Sarkar and Barman thanked the Trinamool MP for his intervention.
They alleged that the BJP leadership did not give them any assistance during their incarceration.
Abhishek launched a sharp attack on Majumdar, the two-time BJP MP from Balurghat and one of the top Bengal BJP faces.
“Sukanta Majumdar also speaks Bengali. Unfortunately, he did nothing for these two migrant workers. He could have contacted BJP leaders or the chief minister of Maharashtra (Devendra Fadnavis) to expedite their release,” he said.
Abhishek also referred to the case of Sunali Khatun from Birbhum, a pregnant woman who was arrested in Delhi after being accused of being an infiltrator, pushed into Bangladesh and later brought back to India following a Supreme Court order. On Tuesday, Abhishek met Sunali, a day after she gave birth to a boy in Birbhum.
Highlighting what he termed "the systematic harassment of Bengali-speaking migrant workers in BJP-ruled states", Abhishek said that the issue had become a major concern for Bengal.
“Her (Sunali's) husband is still stranded in Bangladesh. Juyel Rana from Murshidabad was beaten to death in Odisha for speaking in Bengali. In the past six to eight months, around 1,200 complaints of harassment, attacks and torture (on Bengali-speaking migrant workers) have been registered with the state’s migrant welfare board,” he said.
Speaking to reporters, Abhishek sharply questioned Majumdar’s role and performance as an elected parliamentarian. “Are you (Majumdar) not concerned about the people who voted for you? Abhishek asked.
Implying Majumdar, Abhishek went on: “You participate in fashion shows — did people elect you for that? Where is your report card? What have you done for South Dinajpur?”
Abhishek also met family members of Ochhman Molla, a resident of South Dinajpur who allegedly died by suicide due to anxiety linked to the ongoing SIR process.
Later in the day, Abhishek travelled to Itahar in neighbouring North Dinajpur district, where he took part in a road show and addressed a public gathering, repeating concerns over the plight of migrant workers.
In the evening, he reached Malda, where Trinamool Rajya Sabha member Mausam Noor defected to the Congress recently, and met district-level party leaders.
“District leaders assured him that Noor’s defection won't have any adverse impact on the party,” a source said.
Political observers said Abhishek’s aggressive outreach and focus on migrant issues indicate Trinamool’s intent to improve its performance in South and North Dinajpur in the 2026 Assembly elections.
In the 2021 polls, the party won 10 of the 15 seats in the two districts. The BJP secured five.
“Both districts have a high concentration of migrant workers. North Dinajpur also has a minority population close to 50 per cent. By highlighting cases like Asit Sarkar and Gautam Barman, Abhishek has strategically raised the migrant issue to exert pressure on the BJP,” said a senior political leader from South Dinajpur.
Majumdar, without naming Abhishek, accused him of “cheap stunts”. “Over the past few days, he has resorted to political propaganda, but people won't buy it. Gautam Barman’s wife made it clear that she had informed me about her husband but never said that I did not help her,” Majumdar wrote on social media.