A human trafficking probe in Surat, Gujarat, began after Pankaj Rawat accused agents Abdul and Pradeep of extorting Rs 35 lakh and forcing him on a ‘dunki’ route to the US.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the BJP went head-to-head in the Assembly Wednesday, trading allegations of communalism and making inflammatory statements.

The fierce row included Ms Banerjee thundering “I’m a Hindu… don’t need certification from BJP”, and ripping into the saffron party’s “imported Hindu dharma”.

The opposition party then responded with accusations of Hindu temples being vandalised.

The throwdown – which included BJP lawmakers protesting furiously outside the Assembly building – comes with the 2026 election, to be held in March-April, on the horizon.

Responding to the BJP’s Suvendhu Adhikari of her government being “anti-Hindu”, Ms Banerjee accused her rivals of “targeting Muslims because this is the holy month of Ramzan”.

“They don’t like this. They are trying to distract the attention of the country from economic and trade collapse by making communal statements. I’m a Hindu, and I don’t need certification from BJP,” the Chief Minister, who is routinely attacked for ‘minority appeasement’, said.

She also reminded the BJP that sovereignty, secularism, and pluralism remain the main pillars of India’s democracy, and that every Indian has the right to practise his/her religion, “whether a person is a Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Muslim, Christian, or Parsi…”

“As Chief Minister, my responsibility is to care for all,” she said in the Assembly, as BJP lawmakers shouted anti-government slogans. “Do not play the ‘Hindu card’…” she warned.

Ms Banerjee’s fierce comments followed Mr Adhikari – the Leader of the Opposition – declaring that Muslim MLAs from her party would be thrown out if his party were to come to power.

On Tuesday Mr Adhikari – Ms Banerjee’s right-hand man before jumping to the BJP in December 2020, weeks before the election – said Muslim MLAs would be “physically” thrown out.

The remark was slammed as “hate speech” by Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh, who said, “This is an extremely objectionable statement. He cannot say MLAs from a particular religion will be thrown out physically… cannot discriminate in the name of religion… this mentality is not good.”

Many senior BJP leaders refused to comment on Mr Adhikari’s words.

Amid the language row in Parliament, a Tamil Nadu MP has said the “northern states are 40 years behind” the southern state, and that people from Tamil Nadu dominate almost all spheres because of a two-language formula.

Durai Vaiko, MP from Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) and son of party chief Vaiko, recounted a meeting with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Mr Vaiko had accompanied Tamil Nadu Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, who urged the Union Minister to release funds under the PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme.

The Union Education Minister then said Tamil Nadu has to sign the National Education Policy, which lays down a three-language policy. “Our education minister said Tamil Nadu has excelled in PM SHRI scheme, so we are supposed to get funds. Why are you tying it up with NEP. He (Pradhan) said, ‘Tamil Nadu is 40 years behind and you people should wake up, why are u not letting students learn Hindi?'”

Mr Vaiko said when he got the opportunity to speak, he told the minister, “Tamil Nadu is not 40 years behind. Compared to northern states, we are 40 years ahead.”

The MDMK leader said political parties from Tamil Nadu, except the BJP, have been stressing that they won’t accept a three-language policy. “Since the NEP insists on a three-language formula, we have suggested certain changes. If they bring in the changes, we don’t mind signing it,” he said.

Mr Vaiko, who represents Tiruchirapalli in Lok Sabha, stressed that Tamil Nadu parties are not against Hindi. “Hindi Pracharak Sabha has been functioning in Chennai for 60-70 years. but we don’t want imposition of Hindi,” he said.

He batted for English and said it was a means of communicating with the people and India needs to master it as it pushes to become the third largest economy in the world.

“For people of South (India), English has been a means of progress. Tamilians dominate worldwide, across sectors, be it IT or medical science. They are dominating because of English proficiency and how did we get there: because of a two-language policy,” he said.

Political parties in Tamil Nadu and the Centre are locked in a face-off over the National Education Policy and the three-language formula.

Union Education Minister Pradhan has accused the MK Stalin government of creating “fear psychosis” about the three-language formula while doing little to promote Tamil in the state.

The minister said that while students in Tamil Nadu are increasingly opting for English, the DMK government is questioning the need for a three-language formula. “Nobody is imposing anything on anyone. This is a democratic society and the order of the time is you have to be multilingual,” Pradhan said. “Opposition to NEP 2020 has nothing to do with the preservation of Tamil pride, language and culture but everything to do with gaining political dividends.”