Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury set to visit Odisha to address concern over violence against migrant workers hailing from West Bengal

New Delhi [India], January 2 : Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is set to visit Sambalpur in Odisha today to raise concerns against alleged violence against migrant workers hailing from West Bengal.
He will reach Sambalpur this evening, and on January 4, he will meet local Bengali migrant workers to take the initiative toward resolving their plight and the atrocities they are facing. He also conveyed that, if necessary, he would not hesitate to launch a movement in protest.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, "In Odisha, lakhs of migrant workers from other states go to work. Many labourers from West Bengal go to work in Odisha. From the Murshidabad district, many migrant workers are working there. Since the last few days, atrocities are taking place against Bengal migrant workers, alleging that they are Bangladeshi infiltrators. A 20-year-old youth from Bengal Juyel Rana was beaten to death. The migrant workers are scared and running away. I wish to meet those people and inform their concerns to the local administration and government there."
"I will demand the safety of the migrant workers there. I am going to Sambalpur for that purpose. My party leaders are saying that the local administration in Sambalpur is intimidating the labourers so that they do not meet me. Meeting the migrant workers is not an illegal activity. I don't know why the Sambalpur administration has a problem with my visit. I wish to appeal not to create any hindrance during my visit," he added.
Earlier, the Congress leader wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, flagging the issue, and said the PM has assured him he will look into it. In the wake of the killing of a migrant worker in Sambalpur, Odisha, Chowdhury, in his letter, alleged that the administrative officers, including police, do not differentiate between 'Banglabhasi' (Bangla speaking) and 'Bangladeshi' people.
Speaking to ANI, the Congress leader hinted that the Matua community, who are Bengali Dalit people, are being treated as infiltrators.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, "All the state governments in our country should be sensitised to the plight of migrants. In Bengal, it has become a burning issue right now. I have flagged his attention, and he told me he will be looking after it. I don't know whether the BJP treats the Matua community as infiltrators. But they have been subjected to various kinds of religious persecution in Bangladesh and forced to migrate."
"Over the years, they have voted for the BJP or the TMC. But since the SIR, their names may be deleted. They are living in apprehension. It is incumbent upon the government to look into this because all these persecuted Bangladeshis belong to the Dalit and Hindu communities," he added.
Meanwhile, in his letter, Chowdhury alleged that migrant workers from West Bengal are facing discrimination mainly in precisely BJP-ruled states.
"With a heavy heart, I am constrained to flag your attention that migrant workers from West Bengal who are spreading across the length and breadth of our country are confronting severe discrimination in various states (most precisely BJP BJP-ruled states) at a regular interval. Those migrant workers have been investing their sweat and skill in order to eke out livelihoods, and as a consequence of which, they should be recognised as cogs of our economic wheel of our country. However, they are being subjected to violence, hatred, abuse, and even beaten to death. Their only offence is that they speak in the Bengali language, which is often misunderstood by the concerned administration as persons belonging to neighbouring Bangladesh and treated as infiltrators," he wrote in the letter.
"It is ironic to note that administrative officers, including police, do not differentiate between 'Banglabhasi' and 'Bangladeshi' people. And without committing any offence, they are lodged in jail or a detention centre, much to the injustice being meted out. I do also refer to a harrowing incident that took place in Orissa's Sambalpur, where a youth, Juel Sk., of my district, Murshidabad, has been bludgeoned to death on the same excuse of a Bangladeshi infiltrator," the letter added.
Further, he asked PM Modi to sensitise the state government to stop the alleged discrimination.
"Prime Minister on behalf of those poor & wretched migrant labors from my state West Bengal, I, would request you to sensitise all the state governments in the country so as to stop this kind of discrimination, violence, persecution against those concerned migrant labors who have every right enshrined in our constitution to reside, to work, to visit any part of India and it is incumbent upon the Government to ensure safety and security of those migrant labors of our country," the letter read.
Earlier on December 24, a migrant worker from Murshidabad district was killed following an altercation in Sambalpur, Odisha. Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Sambalpur Srimanta Barik said on December 25, "Some labourers lived here, and they worked here as well. They had become friends with the locals. Some men, under the influence of alcohol, went to them to ask for cigarettes, and a fight broke out between the two groups. One group of men hit him (the victim) on the head, causing a head injury that led to his death. Six men have been arrested in connection with this incident, and the others will also be arrested soon."