Will end infiltration when ‘Lotus’ blooms in Bengal in 2026: Amit Shah in Lok Sabha

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the BJP government will stop infiltration when the ‘Lotus’ blooms in West Bengal in 2026, even as he blamed the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government in the state for harbouring and legitimising illegal infiltration.

“Who gives Aadhaar cards and citizenship to illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators and Rohingyas? All illegal infiltrators who have been caught were found carrying Aadhaar cards with residence in the 24 Pargana district of Bengal. These Rohingyas carry Aadhaar cards and voter cards, and spread across India. If the Bengal government stops issuing Aadhar cards to illegal infiltrators, not even a bird would be able to enter India unlawfully. In any case, illegal immigration is going to stop when the ‘Lotus’ blooms in Bengal in 2026,” Shah said in Lok Sabha while replying to the debate on the Immigration and Foreigners Bill 2025.

The Home Minister blamed “Bengal government’a sympathetic attitude towards illegal infiltrators for stalled fencing work along 450 km of the India-Bangladesh border.”

He said he had personally written 10 letters to Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee but the state is not allotting land for fencing.

“The Home Secretary has held seven meetings with the Bengal chief secretary but they are not giving us land,” said Shah.

The minister informed the Lok Sabha that while 450 km border remains unfenced, a 112-km border stretch could not be fenced due to tough terrains.

“This 112-km is an open border from where infiltrators enter,” he said.

India has a 4,097-km border with Bangladesh, of which 3,232 km has been fenced.

West Bengal shares the longest border with Bangladesh — 2,216 km.