What India said on Bangladesh's immigrant pushback fears after BJP's Bengal win
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that Dhaka's pushback remarks should be seen alongside pending requests to verify undocumented Bangladeshi nationals for repatriation.
India on Friday said that recent remarks from Bangladesh over fears of 'pushback' of illegal immigrants following the BJP's victory in West Bengal must be viewed in the context of the pending repatriation of undocumented Bangladeshi nationals from India.
Responding to comments made by Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India expected Dhaka to speed up nationality verification so that deportation processes can move forward smoothly.
"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 told reporters in a weekly press briefing.
He added that more than 2,860 nationality verification requests are currently pending with Bangladesh, with several cases awaiting clearance for over five years.
"We expect that Bangladesh will expedite nationality verification so that the repatriation of illegal immigrants can take place in a smooth manner," he said.
Jaiswal's remarks came a day after Khalilur Rahman warned that Bangladesh would respond if incidents of 'pushback' take place following the change of power in neighbouring West Bengal. His comments were shared on the official Facebook page of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
The BJP registered a sweeping victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections earlier this week. During its campaign, the party repeatedly accused the Mamata Banerjee-led government of allowing large-scale infiltration from Bangladesh into the state, a charge the Trinamool Congress has consistently denied.
Bangladesh Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed also reacted to the issue, saying he hoped no such 'pushback' incidents would occur after the BJP's electoral win in bordering Indian states.
"I hope no such incident will happen," Ahmed told reporters when asked whether Bangladesh feared a rise in cases of suspected illegal immigrants being sent across the border from India.
The term 'pushback' is commonly used to describe the forcible return of suspected illegal migrants across international borders, while receiving countries often refer to such actions as "push-ins". In recent years, similar disputes between India and Bangladesh have largely surfaced along border regions in India's northeastern states.
Ahmed said the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) had been instructed to remain alert along the frontier.
The exchange came at a time when bilateral ties between the two neighbours have shown signs of improvement. Last month, Rahman held meetings with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval in what marked the first high-level engagement between the two sides after the BNP returned to power in Bangladesh under Tarique Rahman following the February elections.
India-Bangladesh ties had sharply deteriorated during the tenure of interim chief Muhammad Yunus, who assumed office after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.