Mamata Leads Rain-Soaked Rally in Kolkata Over Alleged Harassment of Bengalis in BJP-Ruled States
Kolkata, 16th July 2025: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reignited her Bengali identity narrative with a dramatic return to street politics on Tuesday, leading a massive protest march through central Kolkata in heavy rain. The rally, organized by the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), was held to protest alleged harassment and discrimination against Bengali-speaking people in BJP-ruled states.
Soaked by the downpour but undeterred, Mamata marched alongside senior TMC leaders, including party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, as thousands joined the 3-kilometre march. The rally was tightly secured, with nearly 1,500 police personnel deployed across the route.
Echoes of “BJP, chi chi” (Shame on you, BJP) resonated through the streets as party workers and supporters raised slogans condemning recent actions in states governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party. The demonstration marked a strong assertion of regional identity and political defiance.
The immediate spark for the protest was the recent detention of 444 individuals suspected to be Bangladeshi nationals in Odisha’s Jharsuguda district. The TMC, however, claimed that at least 200 of those detained were migrant workers from Bengal, not illegal immigrants.
This incident follows a series of flashpoints that have sharpened the divide between the TMC and BJP — including reports of linguistic profiling and eviction drives targeting Bengali-speaking individuals in Delhi. TMC leaders have alleged a pattern of systemic targeting of Bengalis in BJP-led administrations across the country.
Mamata’s decision to hit the streets carries political weight, especially with the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections on the horizon and Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to visit the state soon. Political observers see this as a strategic move by the TMC to reposition itself as the custodian of Bengali identity and pride, especially in the face of what it describes as growing central interference and cultural alienation.
The protest underlines the TMC’s renewed effort to galvanize support by portraying the BJP as hostile to Bengal and its people — a tactic that has previously paid political dividends for Mamata Banerjee in the state.
