KOLKATA: The Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Sushri Shobha Karandlaje on Monday informed the Parliament that the states and union territories are responsible for the prevention, detention, investigation, and prosecution of crimes through their law enforcement agencies while replying to a question of Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee. She said in the Lok Sabha that West Bengal ranks third in the country in the number of unorganised workers.
The Trinamool Congress has repeatedly alleged that Bengali-speaking migrant workers from West Bengal are being detained in various BJP-ruled states. Amid reports of Bengali migrants being harassed in BJP-ruled states across the country, Banerjee sought details from the Ministry of Labour and Employment on this issue.
Evading a direct reply, Karandlaje said, " 'Policy’ and ‘Public Order’ are state subjects as per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. The state/UTs are primarily responsible for the prevention, detention, investigation and prosecution of crimes through their Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs).”
According to her, the country has a total of 30,98,43,824 registered unorganised workers, including migrant labourers on the e-Shram portal as on August 5, 2025. In the state-wise list of unorganised workers, Uttar Pradesh remains on top with 8,39,81,159 workers. Bihar and West Bengal hold the second and third spots with 3,00,29,469 and 2,64,81,453 unorganised workers, respectively.