TMC MP Mahua Moitra claims 4 Bengali migrants thrown out of Nayagarh; Odisha police, BJP deny charge

Bhubaneswar, Dec 3 (PTI) With TMC MP Mahua Moitra on Wednesday alleging that four Bengali-speaking Indians were “thrown out” of Nayagrah district in Odisha since they are Bengalis, the BJP asked her not to damage the cordial relationship between the two neighbouring states by making "false" claims.

The Odiaha Police have also denied the charge made by Moitra and said it has set no deadline or asked any person to leave Nayagarh district on suspicion of being Bangladeshi infiltrators.

If some people had left Nayagarh, they did it on their own, Nayagarh Superintendent of Police S Susree told PTI.

In a post on X, Moitra said, “Attention @DGPOdisha @spnayagarh you have illegally thrown out 4 Bengali speaking Indian citizens from Nayagarh district simply because they were Bengalis.” She also threatened to move court on this alleged illegal move in violation of Constitutional norms.

“There are lakhs of Odiya cooks, gardeners, plumbers & others working in Bengal who we treat with love & respect. You will pay for your actions. Watch out,” she said.

In another social media post, the MP also alleged that Odagaon police station in Nayagarh instructed four Bengali migrants, who are bona fide Indian citizens, to leave the district.

The TMC leader claimed that their landlord was pressurised to throw them out and was threatened with arrest, though the SP of West Bengal’s Murshidabad district verified their identity.

Responding to the allegations, the Nayagarh SP said the force was verifying the identities of certain individuals in the district.

“No deadline has been given to anyone. Routine verification and identification of suspected persons are going on… No pressure or deadline was given to them to leave,” the SP said.

They seem to have left Nayagarh while their verification is going on, the police officer said, adding that some other members of their group are staying and cooperating.

Verification at the police and administrative level is continuing, Susree said.

Odisha BJP spokesperson Anil Biswal said, “The Odisha government is determined to remove Bangladeshi infiltrators frOm the state. It is unclear why Mahua Moitra has so much sympathy for them.” Alleging that the TMC has always protected Bangladeshi infiltrators and endangered the internal security of the country, Biswal said the people of Odisha do not need advice from "anti-national elements".

Biswal said the TMC MP should focus on her own state and leave matters of Odisha to its people.

Meanwhile, during the Zero Hour in the Odisha Assembly on Wednesday, Odisha BJP MLA Sanatan Bijuli demanded that Bangladeshi infiltrators need to be thrown out of the state.

He alleged that these people are engaged in all types of anti-social activities like theft, loot and love Jihad.

BJP MLA Santosh Khatua said that Moitra has no authority to speak in favour of infiltrators. “It is just her intolerance. An elected people representative should not oppose when the state government is nabbing infiltrators.” Meanwhile, a report said that the police in Jagatsinghur and Bhadrak districts and also in Bhubaneswar have intensified their search for Bangladeshi infiltrators.

While eight suspected infiltrators were detained in Bhadrak district, 10 others were being questioned by the police in Jagatsinghpur district following a raid in a Madrasa in the coastal district on Tuesday night, police sources said.

On December 1, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had informed the state assembly that the state government has deported 49 Bangladeshi infiltrators to their country of the total 51 such people were identified since June, 2024. PTI AAM NN