India on Thursday urged Bangladesh to expedite the verification of nearly 3,000 suspected illegal immigrants. The call follows comments from Bangladesh officials about potential push-in incidents after the BJP's win in West Bengal.
At the weekly media briefing, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said over 2,862 cases of nationality verification remain pending with Bangladesh, some for more than five years. He stressed that all illegal foreign nationals in India must be repatriated according to laws and bilateral arrangements. Jaiswal added that Bangladesh's cooperation is essential for the process to proceed smoothly.
The remarks come days after the Bharatiya Janata Party secured a landslide victory in West Bengal. Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman had stated on the ruling party's Facebook page that Dhaka would act if push-in incidents occur. Bangladesh Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed later expressed hope that no such incidents would take place.
Jaiswal also addressed the Teesta river water sharing issue. He noted that India and Bangladesh share 54 rivers and maintain structured bilateral mechanisms that meet regularly to discuss water-related matters.
