Overview
- At an International Mother Language Day event in Kolkata, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee conferred the Banga Bibhushan on BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ananta Maharaj.
- Maharaj thanked the state for the honour then told reporters the Centre had neglected the Rajbanshi community and done little for Cooch Behar.
- Banerjee used her address to accuse the BJP-led Centre of autocracy and of insulting Bengali by branding Bengali speakers as Bangladeshis.
- Days earlier, the state government sent a proposal to include Rajbanshi and Kurmali in the Constitution’s Eighth Schedule, a move read as linguistic outreach.
- Political observers note the felicitation has prompted talk of shifting equations in North Bengal, while the state BJP had not issued a response at the time of reporting.