NEW DELHI — India responded Thursday to top-level Bangladeshi concerns about possible cross-border pushbacks following the BJP’s victory in West Bengal’s assembly election, saying the issue should be viewed in the context of deporting illegal Bangladeshi migrants. New Delhi also urged Bangladesh to complete its citizenship verification process more quickly.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said more than 2,860 citizenship verification cases are currently pending with the Bangladesh government, with many applications waiting more than five years for resolution. “If the verification process is completed quickly, returning illegal migrants can be done in a simple and orderly manner,” he said.
Earlier, Bangladesh’s home minister, Salahuddin Ahmed, voiced concern about possible pushbacks along the border. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, May 6, he said he did not expect such incidents after the BJP’s win in West Bengal, but added that Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) had been ordered to remain alert.
Bangladesh’s foreign minister, Khalilur Rahman, also commented on the issue. In a statement posted on the BNP’s official Facebook page, he said Bangladesh would take necessary action if any “push-in,” or forced entry of people across the border, occurred after the political change in West Bengal.
On the sharing of Teesta River waters, Jaiswal said in response to a question that India and Bangladesh share 54 common rivers and that the two countries have a well-organized bilateral framework to discuss all issues related to them. He said Thursday that existing joint processes on water sharing and river management were progressing through regular meetings. He gave no details on any new progress or specific timeline for a Teesta agreement.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report