Speaking at an official programme here in Jalpaiguri in the northern part of the state, Mamata said that she stayed awake throughout last night monitoring the situation in the neighbouring country.
“I will appeal to the tourists stranded in Nepal not to panic. We will bring them back in a couple of days,” she said.
“I stayed up the entire night, keeping a close watch (on Nepal). I know several tourists from Bengal are in Nepal. I want to assure them that we are taking up the matter and will begin bringing them back once the situation stabilises,” Mamata said.
The Chief Minister, who is on a three-day administrative tour of North Bengal, shifted her place of stay from the Kanyashree bungalow to Uttarkanya due to mobile connectivity issues, a senior official said on Wednesday.
“It is reported that there were network issues at the Kanyashree bungalow, which made it difficult for her to stay updated on the developments in Nepal. As a result, the CM shifted to Uttarkanya on Tuesday night to monitor the situation more closely,” the official said.
Later, the Trinamool Congress posted a photo of the party supremo sitting in ‘Uttarkanya’ and monitoring the situation in the riot-hit neighbouring nation. Uttarkanya is a building in Siliguri which houses the temporary state secretariat for the North Bengal Development Department of West Bengal.
“The unfolding situation in our neighbouring country, Nepal, is a matter of deep concern. Placing the interests of the state above all else, our compassionate Chief Minister remained at Uttar Kanya State Secretariat through the night, personally monitoring every detail with utmost vigilance,” the party posted on X.
Incidentally, while leaving for North Bengal, Mamata had commented on the unrest in Nepal. “We love Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. We love all the bordering countries. I also urge residents of Siliguri, Kalimpong, and other areas near the Nepal border to maintain peace. Let Nepal return to normal. We cannot interfere; this is not our matter,” Banerjee said at the Kolkata airport here before leaving for North Bengal on Tuesday.
The TMC supremo on Wednesday also condemned reported incidents of harassment faced by Bengali-speaking migrants in states like Assam, Odisha, Maharashtra and Gujarat. The Chief Minister asked those people to speak more in Bengali without any fear.
Mamata said: “I urge you to speak more in Bengali. Don’t be afraid. I will see how much torture they can inflict. How dare they send (NRC) notices to Rajbangshi people from Alipurduar, Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri?”
The CM claimed she faces insults daily because she wants West Bengal’s development. “We will speak in our mother tongue, but we will also learn other languages. There is no insult in speaking Bengali, Rajbangshi, Nepali, Gorkha or Hindi. But let me make it clear. Bengal will be run from Bengal, not from Delhi,” she said, drawing loud applause from the crowd.
The CM also highlighted that West Bengal provides support to over 1.5 crore migrants from other parts of India. “We never misbehave with the migrant workers here. They get every benefit under our government schemes. Then why are our people being beaten up in states like Gujarat, Odisha, UP, and Chhattisgarh, all double-engine governments,” she questioned.
Around 24,000 migrant families have already returned to West Bengal under her government’s rehabilitation efforts, the Chief Minister said.
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