
The Bangladesh government on Tuesday (Jul23) officially lodged a protest against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's recent statement about offering "shelter to helpless people" from violence-hit Bangladesh.
The neighbouring country has sent an official note to India regarding the matter.
"With due respect to the West Bengal Chief Minister, with whom we share a very close relationship, we want to make it clear that her comments have a lot of scope for confusion. Therefore, we have given a note to the Government of India," Hasan Mahmud, Bangladesh's Foreign Minister, said.
It may be mentioned here, that on July 21, in the wake of the rising violence and protests in Bangladesh, Mamata Banerjee said that the state would keep its doors open for "people in distress" from the neighbouring country and offer them shelter.
She also noted that commenting on foreign issues falls under the jurisdiction of the Centre.
Speaking at a rally, the West Bengal CM stated, "If helpless people come knocking on the doors, we will surely provide them shelter." Banerjee justified her stance by referring to the United Nations resolution on refugees.
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"This is because there is a United Nations declaration to accommodate refugees in regions adjacent to those in turmoil," the West Bengal CM added.
Meanwhile, West Bengal Governor, CV Ananda Bose, has sought a report from the CM on her comment.The Raj Bhavan said that it is the Centre's right to handle anything that is part of external affairs.
Notably, violence escalated in Bangladesh, especially in the capital Dhaka, killing scores as students launched protests demanding reforms of the quota system for government jobs.
The student protests have been ongoing for more than a month but escalated last week after police action at Dhaka University.
(With inputs from agencies)