‘No Monopoly Over Bangla’: Mithun Slams Mamata Over Language Row; Bengal CM Calls For ‘Bhasha Andolan’
Mithun Chakraborty criticised Mamata Banerjee's language remarks as a pre-election tactic to create controversy. Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee called for a "Bhasha Andolan" to protect the Bengali language.
Veteran actor and BJP leader Mithun Chakraborty has launched a sharp attack on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her recent remarks on the Bengali language. Responding to her comments, Chakraborty told ANI, “She wants to create controversy in everything… Nothing is going to happen… Bangla language will remain as it is. Mamata Banerjee has got no monopoly over it… We will put up a strong fight.”
#WATCH | Kolkata, West Bengal: On CM Mamata Banerjee's remark on Bengali language, BJP leader Mithun Chakraborty says, "She wants to create controversy in everything... Nothing is going to happen... Bangla language will remain as it is. Mamata Banerjee has got no monopoly over… pic.twitter.com/VDKF1YEnHT
— ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2025
According to IANS, Chakraborty alleged that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is attempting to manufacture issues ahead of the upcoming polls. He dismissed claims of harassment against Bengali-speaking citizens in BJP-ruled states, stating, “Bengali-speaking people have not faced any kind of unnecessary harassment anywhere in the country. Actually, Trinamool Congress is running short of issues before the elections. So the Chief Minister is trying to create a false narrative on the issue and trying to instigate common people, which she has always done.”
Arriving in Kolkata on Thursday to attend multiple party programmes, the BJP leader also hit back at the TMC’s accusation that the Election Commission of India (ECI) is removing names of Bengali voters at the behest of the BJP and the Centre.
Remarks on Voter List and Infiltrators
Chakraborty told IANS, “Names of genuine Bengali voters are not being deleted from the voters’ list anywhere in India. Only those names are being deleted who infiltrated illegally and subsequently managed to get their names enrolled in the voters’ list.”
He further alleged that West Bengal has the highest number of illegal infiltrators who have managed to register as voters. “Trinamool Congress leadership is aware that with the names of these infiltrators deleted from the voters’ list, they would not be able to win even 70 out of 294 seats in West Bengal in the 2026 state Assembly polls. That is why they have panicked and are opposing the special intensive revision by ECI,” he said.
Chakraborty also urged BJP workers in the state to assist the ECI in identifying illegal infiltrators.
Mamata Banerjee's Calls For Bangla Bhasha Andolan
The TMC, led by Banerjee, has consistently opposed the revision exercise, with the Chief Minister claiming it is an indirect attempt to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in West Bengal. Now, she is cornering the BJP over alleged targeted discrimination against Bengali speakers in states like Odisha, Assam, and New Delhi. She has questioned the saffron party over terming Bengali speakers as Rohingya or Bangladeshi infiltrators.
Meanwhile, Mamata called to organise a programme to support Bangla as she remarked in Kolkata today, "We all speak our mother tongue. Children first speak "Maa" in their mother tongue. However, a language war has been declared over the Bengali language. Another Bhasha Andolan should raise awareness among everyone. People are tortured for speaking Bengali in many places. People cannot be detained just for speaking Bengali. We cannot tolerate this. Programmes should be organised on this issue", news agency ANI reported.
"Bengali is the fifth most spoken language in the world, with 30 crore people speaking it. I cannot accept that anyone could be jailed for speaking the language," she said, as per news agency PTI.
Top Headlines
