MEA reacts to Dhaka’s ‘pushback’ remarks after BJP’s Bengal win, seeks faster repatriation of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants

NEW DELHI: India on Thursday said Bangladesh’s remarks on alleged “pushback” incidents must be viewed in the context of the repatriation of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, while urging Dhaka to expedite pending nationality verification cases.

Responding to remarks made by Bangladesh foreign minister Khalilur Rahman following the BJP’s victory in the West Bengal assembly elections, ministry of external affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India expects cooperation from Bangladesh on the issue.

“We have seen comments of this nature being made in the last several days. These comments must be seen in the context of the core issue of the repatriation of illegal Bangladeshis from India. This obviously requires cooperation from Bangladesh,” Jaiswal said.


He added that more than 2,860 cases of nationality verification were pending with Bangladesh, with several awaiting clearance for over five years. “We expect that Bangladesh will expedite nationality verification so that the repatriation of illegal immigrants can take place in a smooth manner,” he said.

The remarks came after Bangladesh home minister Salahuddin Ahmed expressed hope that people would not be “pushed” into Bangladesh after the BJP’s victory in assembly elections in bordering Indian states.

“I hope no such incident (push backs) will happen,” Ahmed told reporters on Wednesday when asked if he feared a rise in cases involving people suspected to be illegal immigrants being sent across the border from India. He, however, said the Border Guard Bangladesh had been asked to “remain alert” along the frontier.

Ahmed’s comments followed remarks by Bangladesh foreign minister Khalilur Rahman, who was quoted on the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s official Facebook page as saying Bangladesh would take action if “push-in” incidents occurred following the political change in West Bengal.

The latest remarks by the MEA comes days after the BJP swept the West Bengal assembly polls, where the party had campaigned strongly on the issue of alleged illegal immigration from Bangladesh, accusing the Trinamool Congress of enabling infiltration in the state, a charge rejected by the Mamata Banerjee-led government.