Govt: 2 crore illegal Bangladeshis in India

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 16

Knowing that the announcement will kick-off yet another political debate, the government today said there were about 2 crore illegal Bangladeshi migrants living in India.

Informing the Rajya Sabha through a written reply, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said: “As per available inputs, there are nearly 20 million illegal Bangladeshi migrants staying in India.”

The minister, however, contended that since such people from India’s eastern neighbour have entered the country without any valid travel documents, their entry is “clandestine and surreptitious” and thus it was not possible to have “accurate data” of such illegal migrants staying in different parts of the country. He also claimed that identification and deporting such persons is a “continuous process”.

During his campaign for the General Election in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that “Bangladeshis” would be deported if he came to power.

Assam and West Bengal are considered to be the worst hit due to the alleged illegal infiltration from Bangladesh. Assam had witnessed a six-year-long agitation from 1979-85 against the illegal immigrants.

The 2014 election manifesto of the BJP had said the party would review and improve the border management and “punitive measures would be introduced to check illegal immigration”.

The BJP had said it would address the issue of infiltration and illegal immigrants in the Northeast region on a priority basis and this would include clear policy directions and effective control at the ground level.

Bangladesh and India share 4,096-km international border.