Kolkata, July 9 (Reporter) The allegation that Bengali-speaking migrant workers from West Bengal are being harassed by the Odisha government has escalated into a major political controversy, with TMC MP from Krishnanagar, Mahua Moitra, alleging today that 23 workers from her constituency are being detained in Odisha under the pretext of documentation. In a video message posted on her X handle, Moitra said, “This video is to bring to the urgent notice of the Chief Minister, the chief secretary, and the DGP of Odisha that 23 workers from my constituency in Mirzapur village under Panighata GP in Nadia district are currently being illegally detained in an interrogation centre by the Orient police station of Jharsuguda district.” She claimed that a total of 444 Bengali-speaking workers from West Bengal are being held in Jharsuguda district, of which 23 are from her constituency. Odisha Police confirmed that 444 migrant workers employed in construction, mining, and various industrial units across the district have been detained for verification on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingyas allegedly residing in India without documentation. Officials in the Odisha government have also clarified that, following directives from the Ministry of Home Affairs, all districts in Odisha were instructed to form Special Task Forces (STFs) headed by Superintendents of Police. Each STF has been assigned a Foreigners Registration Officer (FRO) to identify and facilitate the deportation of undocumented migrants. “The SP of Nadia has already spoken to the SP of Jharsuguda, who has informed him that they are being detained on the pretext of some documentation drive. All these workers have valid documents like Aadhaar cards and voter ID cards,” said the MP from Krishnanagar. Threatening legal action if the workers are not released immediately, the corporate banker-turned-politician said, “India is a union of states and every single citizen has the right to life, the right to livelihood, and the right to work anywhere within the territory of the Indian Union. The SP has already spoken to them and provided all the documentation. Please release them immediately, otherwise, we will file 23 habeas corpus petitions in all the courts of this land.” This is not the first such incident, as two habeas corpus petitions were earlier filed in the Calcutta High Court against the Odisha Police for the "illegal detention" of migrant workers from Bengal. Trinamool MP and Chairman of the West Bengal Migrant Workers' Welfare Board, Samirul Islam, said the parents of two workers filed the petitions to produce the detainees before the court. Bengal chief secretary Manoj Pant also wrote to his Odisha counterpart, Manoj Ahuja, requesting the release of the detained workers and an end to their harassment, urging immediate intervention. “In the past 24 years of Naveen Patnaik’s government, we never had to face a situation like this, but in the past one year, ever since the BJP government came to power, this has become a daily occurrence,” Moitra said. Reminding the Odisha government of the revenue earned from Bengali tourists, Moitra said, “I would like to urge the Odisha government to consider that 50 per cent of Odisha’s tourism revenue comes from Bengal. If they stop going there, think what is going to happen.” “Bengal is home to 1.3 crore migrant workers from other states, and they live here in peace and harmony. I urge the Odisha government to take urgent action and release the workers immediately,” she added...////...