‘Bangladesh’s comments must be seen in context of repatriation of illegal immigrants’: MEA reacts to Dhaka’s ‘pushback’ remarks
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Bangladesh’s comments must be seen in context of repatriation of illegal immigrants’: MEA reacts to Dhaka’s ‘pushback’ remarks")
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal Photograph: (ANI)
Ministry of External Affairs said Bangladesh must cooperate in the repatriation of illegal Bangladeshi nationals, adding that over 2,860 nationality verification cases remain pending with Dhaka, several for more than five years.
India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday (May 7) said Bangladesh’s remarks on alleged “pushback” incidents should be viewed in the context of the repatriation of illegal immigrants, after Bangladesh’s foreign minister warned of action if any such “push-in” incidents occur following the BJP’s historic victory in the West Bengal elections.
Addressing a weekly press briefing in New Delhi, Official Spokesperson for the MEA Randhir Jaiswal said India requires cooperation from Bangladesh in verifying the nationality of several individuals identified as illegal immigrants.
“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 nationality verification requests remain pending with Bangladesh, with several cases awaiting clearance for over five years.
“Our policy is that any foreign national who is illegally staying in the country must be repatriated as per laws, procedures and established bilateral mechanisms. We expect Bangladesh to expedite nationality verification so that repatriation of illegal immigrants can take place smoothly,” he added.
The remarks came after Bangladesh Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed expressed hope that people would not be “pushed” into Bangladesh following the BJP’s victory in assembly elections in bordering Indian states.
“I hope no such incident will happen,” Ahmed told reporters on Wednesday while adding that the Border Guard Bangladesh had been instructed to remain alert along the frontier
.
His remarks followed comments by Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman, quoted on the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s official Facebook page as saying, Bangladesh would take action if alleged “push-in” incidents occur after the political developments in West Bengal.
Earlier, the Bangladesh government summoned the acting Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Pawan Badhe, to lodge a formal protest over recent remarks allegedly made by CM Himanta Biswa Sarma regarding the repatriation of individuals from Assam.
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The diplomatic row followed Sarma’s April 26 statement claiming that 20 foreign nationals were apprehended in Assam and “pushed back to Bangladesh”.
In a post on X, Sarma said, “Rude people don't understand soft language. We continuously remind ourselves of this prophetic line when we expel infiltrators from Assam who don't leave themselves. For instance, these 20 illegal Bangladeshis were pushed back last night.”
