West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee recently led a big protest march in Kolkata, even after heavy rain poured down. The march was against what she called the harassment of Bengali-speaking people in BJP-ruled states. Many top leaders from her party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), including Abhishek Banerjee, joined her. People shouted slogans like "BJP, shame on you" as they walked the 3-km route. Around 1,500 police officers were deployed to keep everything safe.

After the march, Mamata gave a fiery speech. She said she would speak more in Bengali now and dared the central government to put her in a detention camp. She said, "BJP, wait and see. We will fight back." The protest was sparked by the recent detention of 444 suspected Bangladeshi nationals in Jharsuguda, Odisha. According to the TMC, 200 of them were migrant workers from Bengal and not illegal immigrants. Mamata accused the BJP government of targeting Bengali speakers unfairly.

She explained that around 22 lakh (2.2 million) people from Bengal work in other states because they have skills and need jobs. She questioned why these people are being arrested just for speaking Bengali and asked, "Is Bengal not part of India?" Mamata also claimed that the BJP had sent instructions to all its ruled states to arrest suspected Bangladeshi nationals and put them in detention camps.

This protest is also seen as a political move. The Assembly elections in West Bengal are coming next year, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is about to visit the state. By focusing on Bengali pride and identity, Mamata is trying to unite the people and gain their support, just like she did successfully in the 2021 elections with her "Bengal wants its own daughter" campaign.