Dhaka: Bangladesh has expressed hope that illegal immigrants who entered India over the last several years will not be pushed back across the international border, after the BJP swept to power in West Bengal and Assam.
Salahuddin Ahmed, home minister of Bangladesh, said this while speaking to reporters in Dhaka on Wednesday.
“I hope no such incident (push backs) will happen,” Ahmed said when asked if he feared an increase in cases of people suspected of being illegal immigrants being pushed from India.
He said that the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have been asked to “remain alert” along the frontiers, as reported by PTI.
His comments came a day after Bangladesh foreign minister Khalilur Rahman was quoted in the r
uling Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s official Facebook page as saying that Bangladesh will take action if “push-in” incidents occur amid the change of power in the bordering state of West Bengal.
While the BJP has been in power in Assam for two terms before returning for a third on Monday, the party won a landmark victory in West Bengal, bagging over two-third seats in the 294-member Assembly.
One of the major issues that the BJP took up during its election campaign in West Bengal is the presence of infiltrators in the bordering state. The Mamata Banerjee government was accused of sheltering illegal immigrants for votes. The Trinamool Congress denied this vehemently.
“Pushback” is a term used to describe the forceful eviction of illegal immigrants to their country of origin. Over the last few years, illegal Bangladeshis apprehended in other states like Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, have also been pushed back through West Bengal and Assam.
Such push back efforts have remained a contentious issue between the two neighbours, with Bangladesh refusing to take back its own citizens on many occasions.