Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday backed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for calling out the Delhi police for allegedly referring to Bengali as a Bangladeshi language, labelling it a “direct insult to the very language in which the National Anthem is composed.” Stalin said such remarks were not “inadvertent errors” but a reflection of a regime that undermines India’s linguistic diversity. “The Delhi Police, under the Union Home Ministry, has described Bengali as a ‘Bangladeshi language.’ This is a direct insult to the very language in which our National Anthem was written. Such statements are not inadvertent errors or slips. They expose the dark mindset of a regime that consistently undermines diversity and weaponises identity,” Stalin posted on X. “In the face of this assault on non-Hindi languages, Mamata Banerjee stands as a shield for the language and people of West Bengal. She will not let this attack pass without a fitting response,” he added. Meanwhile, amid uproar over the alleged reference, BJP leader Amit Malviya criticised Mamata Banerjee and suggested she be booked under the National Security Act (NSA) for allegedly inciting linguistic conflict. He argued her reaction was “misplaced and dangerously inflammatory”, asserting that the Delhi Police’s letter did not describe Bengali as a “Bangladeshi language.” “Mamata Banerjee’s reaction to Delhi Police referring to the language used by infiltrators as ‘Bangladeshi’ is not just misplaced, it is dangerously inflammatory. Nowhere in the Delhi Police letter is Bangla or Bengali described as a ‘Bangladeshi’ language,” Malviya said on X. “To claim otherwise and call upon Bengalis to rise against the Centre is deeply irresponsible. Mamata Banerjee should be held accountable–perhaps even under the National Security Act–for inciting linguistic conflict,” he added. On Sunday, Mamata Banerjee accused the Delhi Police of describing Bengali as a “Bangladeshi language”, calling it scandalous, anti-national, and unconstitutional. Sharing a letter by Delhi Police on X, Banerjee said, “See now how Delhi police under the direct control of the Ministry of Home, Government of India, is describing Bengali as ‘Bangladeshi’ language! Bengali, our mother tongue… is now described as a Bangladeshi language!!” Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Md Salim also slammed the Delhi Police, calling it “illiterate” and questioning its officers’ awareness of the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.
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