Bangladesh hopes no pushback after BJP poll victory
Bangladesh Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed expressed hope that no “pushback” incidents would occur after the BJP’s electoral victory in bordering Indian states. He said border forces had been alerted amid concerns over possible deportation of suspected illegal immigrants
Dhaka: Bangladesh Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Wednesday expressed hope that people would not be pushed into his country after the BJP’s victory in the recent Assembly polls in bordering states.
“I hope no such incident (pushbacks) will happen,” Ahmed told reporters when asked if he feared an increase in cases of people suspected to be illegal immigrants being pushed from India.
Ahmed, however, said that the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) had been asked to “remain alert” along the frontiers.
Ahmed’s comments came a day after Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman was quoted on the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s official Facebook page as saying that Bangladesh would take action if “push-in” incidents occurred amid the change of power in the bordering state of West Bengal.
On Monday, Assembly election results were announced in West Bengal, where the BJP won with a sweeping majority. During its election campaign, the BJP often accused the Mamata Banerjee-led government of allowing an influx of Bangladeshi people into West Bengal, an allegation that the latter has dismissed.
The party also retained power in the bordering state of Assam for a third term.
The term “pushback” is typically used to describe the action of forcefully sending people, believed to be illegal migrants, across borders. Countries where they are sent often use the term “push in”.
In recent years, such cases between India and Bangladesh have largely centred around border areas in some northeastern states.
