India on Thursday urged Bangladesh to quickly verify the citizenship of nearly 3,000 suspected illegal immigrants from the neighboring country, days after Dhaka said it would take action if New Delhi forcibly pushes any individuals believed to be Bangladeshis across the border.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman, in a message in Bengali posted on the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s Facebook page on Tuesday, a day after the BJP won the legislative assembly elections in the border state of West Bengal, said Dhaka would take action if there were any incidents of “incursion” from the Indian side.
External Affairs Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said in a weekly press conference that the Indian side took note of the comments issued by Bangladesh on this matter. “These comments must be seen in the context of the fundamental issue of repatriation of illegal Bangladeshis from India,” he said while responding to a question about Rahman’s remarks.
Meanwhile, Jaiswal asked for Bangladesh’s help in dealing with the issue of illegal immigrants. He added: “It is clear that this requires cooperation from Bangladesh. There are more than 2,862 citizenship verification cases pending with Bangladesh, many of them for more than five years.”
“Our policy is that any foreign national who is illegal in the country should be repatriated in accordance with our established laws, procedures and bilateral arrangements. We expect Bangladesh to expedite the citizenship verification process so that the repatriation of illegal immigrants is done in a smooth manner,” Jaiswal said.
The issue of illegal migration from Bangladesh to the border states of Assam and West Bengal has been a sensitive issue for decades. During the Assembly election campaign in West Bengal, the BJP accused the state’s former ruling party, the Trinamool Congress, of allowing the influx of Bengali citizens into the region. The Transitional Military Council denied the charge, but was defeated after 15 years in power.
Bangladeshi Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said on Wednesday that he hoped no individuals would be pushed into the country after the BJP’s victory. “I hope such an incident does not happen,” Ahmed told reporters when asked if he feared an increase in expulsions of suspected illegal immigrants from India. Ahmed also said that Bangladesh’s border guards have been asked to “remain alert” along the border.
Bangladesh has protested against the so-called “repulsion” of individuals from the Indian side in recent years. Some incidents also sparked controversy after it emerged that the individuals forcibly sent across the border were Indian nationals.
Jaiswal responded to another question about possible cooperation between Bangladesh and China in managing the Teesta River in the neighboring country by saying that New Delhi and Dhaka have established bilateral mechanisms to deal with all matters related to trans-border rivers.
“Between India and Bangladesh, we have 54 rivers shared by the two countries. We have organized bilateral mechanisms to discuss all water-related issues. These bilateral mechanisms continue to meet at regular intervals,” he said.
Foreign Minister Abdul Rahman, during an ongoing visit to China, requested Beijing’s “participation and support” for the comprehensive management and restoration project of the Teesta River during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, Bangladesh’s state-run BSS news agency reported on Thursday.
India has opposed any Chinese participation in projects related to the Teesta River because of its location near a sensitive area on the border with Bangladesh. The Teesta River is the only cross-border river on which India and Bangladesh were unable to reach an agreement on water sharing due to opposition from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Under current laws, the state government must sign any agreement with Bangladesh on sharing the waters of a transboundary river.
