Bangladesh MP flags possible refugee crisis from India

DHAKA: Hardline Jamaat-backed opposition MP Akhter Hossen has warned about a possible influx of Muslims into Bangladesh from neighbouring India, alleging a potential “conspiracy being hatched in the region” to burden his country with a refugee crisis.

Hossen did not name the “region” in India he had in mind. However, his statements were seen by many as referring to the just-concluded elections in Assam and West Bengal.



Exit polls have predicted a BJP victory in Assam, and while they are divided on the results in Bengal, some have given the saffron party an edge over its rival and governing TMC, which it has accused of “harbouring” illegal Bangladeshis as part of the latter’s “Muslim appeasement politics”.

In some areas, the Rohingya community (from Buddhist-majority Myanmar’s Rakhine State) have already entered Bangladesh, and “there is no guarantee that a wave of refugees will not be created by expelling Muslims from a neighbouring country,” the National Citizen Party member said, in an apparent reference to Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma’s “pushing back illegal Bangladeshis into their country” remarks.

He urged for national unity to prevent such a scenario. “People must remain united, just as the nation stood together always, especially in 1971 (Liberation War) and 2024 (July uprising against PM Sheikh Hasina).”

He added that Bangladesh must respond as a cohesive force to any threat to its sovereignty or independence or to any external attempt to impose decisions on its people. “We are situated in a complex region and are deeply connected to multiple (geopolitical) realities,” he said.

Opposition chief whip in Parliament and NCP convener, Nahid Islam Nahid, raised concerns over alleged “ongoing border killings”. He warned of push-in situations along the border, alleging that around 4,000 people had been “pushed in”. “A dangerous crisis may be emerging in the days ahead,” he told Parliament.