Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday said illegal Bangladeshis had gathered at the Hakimpur checkpoint in North 24 Parganas district’s Basirhat subdivision and urged authorities to expedite their deportation.
Speaking to reporters after an administrative meeting in Kalyani attended by officials from Nadia, Hooghly and North 24 Parganas districts, Adhikari claimed that the people assembled at the border point were willing to return to Bangladesh.
Referring to the Foreigners Act, he said the provisions already existed and needed to be implemented effectively.
“This is an existing Foreigners Act, and not a new one. And these people must leave. It’s their responsibility to take back the Bangladeshis. I remember that their (Bangladeshi) spokesperson said they will be taking back their citizens. I have seen it on social media, YouTube. We have already told the police not to send them to jail. There is no point in spending on their food, clothing and medicine. Are they our damad (son-in-law)?” he said.
“Jaldi jaldi bhago nahi toh jo karna hai sarkar karega (Quickly leave, otherwise the government will take necessary action),” Adhikari said, referring to the gathering at the border point, while directing officials to ensure that those present are sent back to their country at the earliest.
Adhikari further claimed that police had been instructed not to send illegal Bangladeshi nationals to court and instead hand them over directly to the BSF, citing bilateral arrangements.
“We do not want to feed them in jails or waste public money on them. This is actually harming Indians, especially in West Bengal. The law was there, but was not utilised by some people for vote-bank politics. We will go beyond vote-bank considerations and implement this for the sake of the country and the state,” he said.
The state government has set up holding centres in all districts to house “apprehended foreigners” and “released foreign prisoners” until deportation formalities are completed.
Though framed as a procedural exercise aligned with central guidelines, the directive comes days after Adhikari publicly rolled out a tougher anti-infiltration framework and declared that his government had adopted a “detect, delete and deport” policy to identify and push back Bangladeshis across the border.
