Mamata Banerjee on Thursday wrote a letter to Union home minister Amit Shah, urging him to frame stringent legislations to curb the increasing menace of cybercrime and generation and consumption of “incendiary narratives” on social media.
“I write to convey my deep concern over an issue that is increasingly posing serious challenges to public tranquillity and the social fabric of our nation — the proliferation of provocative content on some sections of the social media platforms and the alarming rise in cybercrime,” the chief minister wrote in her letter.
She said increasing incidents of cybercrime were taking a toll on common people as they were facing financial fraud, identity theft or online harassment.
Moreover, cybercrimes like incendiary narratives and fake videos were spreading misinformation and have the potential to hurt communal sentiments and can incite violence, the chief minister wrote.
“In recent times, it has been observed that incendiary narratives, misleading stories and fake videos circulating on social media are contributing significantly to the aggravation of criminal tendencies among certain sections of the society. Such content not only spreads misinformation but also has the potential to inflame communal sentiments, incite violence, disrupt societal harmony and indulge in crime against women,” read the letter.
Mamata laid stress on the need for stringent legislative provisions to curb the menace as the existing legal framework and its enforcement “requires further strengthening to keep pace with the rapidly evolving digital ecosystem”.
The chief minister also pointed out the need for a programme to make people aware of the responsible use and consumption of digital media, as many were not aware of the risks “associated with consuming and sharing unverified content”.
“Therefore, it is important that sensitization programmes, digital literacy campaigns and community engagement initiatives must be pursued vigorously to equip citizens with the tools to critically evaluate online information and to report suspicious activities promptly,” the chief minister wrote.
The letter by the chief minister assumed significance against the backdrop of her complaints that the BJP often tries to malign the state government by posting wrong information about Bengal on social media.
“She raised a flag ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls since she knows that the BJP would go for an all-out effort to malign the state government in the next few months,” said an official.
Pant writes to Odisha
Bengal chief secretary Manoj Pant wrote a letter to his Odisha counterpart, Manoj Ahuja, requesting the latter’s intervention to stop the harassment of Bengali-speaking migrant workers in Odisha.
“It is deeply distressing to learn that many of them (migrant workers from Bengal) are being targeted solely because they speak Bengali—their mother tongue – and are being unjustly labeled as Bangladeshi infiltrators,” the chief secretary wrote inhis letter.
Pant’s letter came after 17 migrant workers from Bengal were detained in Odisha’s Balasore district on Tuesday. The relatives of the detained workers alleged that, though they had produced their identity cards, including Aadhar, the police did not release them, suspecting them to be Bangladeshi nationals.
“Alarmingly, there have also been instances where, despite verification reports from competent authorities in West Bengal confirming the identity and citizenship of the individuals, there has been no positive action or relief,” wrote Pant who has requested his counterpart to ensure that Indian citizens are not detained arbitrarily.