TMC issues Bengali-only whip for KMC budget session to counter BJP amid language war

Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress has issued a whip through WhatsApp on Monday, instructing its councillors in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to speak exclusively in Bengali during the ongoing budget session of the civic body.

The TMC move aims to step up the party's protest against the alleged attack and harassment of the migrant workers from West Bengal in the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states while tapping into linguistic sentiment ahead of the assembly polls.

TMC chief whip in the Kolkata civic body, Bappaditya Dasgupta, appealed to councillors to use Bengali in the budget discussions.

“The members have been requested to join the fight to save the existence of Bengalis and keep all the speeches in Bengali in the budget session of the Kolkata Municipality,” he said.

However, several councillors of the ruling party have Hindi or Urdu as their mother tongue and often speak in Hindi or English during budget discussions. Following the chief whip’s appeal, they are now expected to deliver their speeches in Bengali.

This year’s budget will be discussed in the civic body over the next few days. Observers note that while the BJP has been targeting the Trinamool over corruption allegations, the ruling party appears to be countering the charges with an emphasis on Bengali linguistic and cultural identity.

“Bengali culture is being attacked all over the country. Even Bengali scholars are not getting any relief. Bengalis are facing harassment in BJP-ruled states for speaking in Bengali -- the language in which Rabindranath Tagore wrote the national anthem and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay composed ‘Vande Mataram’,” Dasgupta said.

He added, “Keeping in mind the way Bengalis are being harassed, Bengali has been made the language of protest. I have made this appeal to my party councillors. Everyone saw that the mayor presented the budget speech in Bengali last Friday. This time, it is expected that other councillors will follow that path.”