BANGLADESH FM WARNS AGAINST “PUSH-INS” OF BENGALI-SPEAKING MUSLIMS AFTER BJP’S WB VICTORY

Wed 06 May 2026:

“If any kind of push-in incident occurs after the change of power in West Bengal, then Bangladesh will take appropriate measures,” Khalilur Rahman said.

A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a historic majority in the West Bengal assembly elections, Bangladesh foreign minister Khalilur Rahman warned that Dhaka would respond if incidents of “push-ins” increase under the new government in the state.

“If any kind of push-in incident occurs after the change of power in West Bengal, then Bangladesh will take appropriate measures,” Khalilur Rahman said, while briefing reporters at the State Guest House Padma in Dhaka following a meeting with a US delegation.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)’s official Facebook page also shared Rahman’s remarks on Tuesday.

The term “push-in”, referred to in India as “pushback”, describes the practice of Indian border forces allegedly forcing individuals across the India-Bangladesh border into Bangladeshi territory.

The Indian government has come under scrutiny over allegations of systemic bias against Bengali-speaking Muslims, who are often labelled as “Bangladeshi infiltrators” without due process, with critics arguing that the Union government’s actions are discriminatory and unconstitutional.

Over the years, several allegations, including cases raised before the Supreme Court of India, have accused security personnel of targeting Bengali Muslims by branding them Bangladeshi nationals and expelling them across the border, despite possessing documents.

Bangladesh has repeatedly criticised such actions as violations of its sovereignty.

According to Prothom Alo, a major Bangladeshi newspaper, the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) pushed a total of 2,479 people into Bangladesh between 7 May 2025 and 26 January 2026, a span of just eight months.

Border Guard Bangladesh later identified at least 120 of them as Indian citizens.

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Dhaka’s concerns come amid the BJP’s aggressive election rhetoric in West Bengal, where senior party leaders repeatedly invoked the issue of “Bangladeshi infiltrators”.

Suvendu Adhikari, the BJP’s leader of opposition in West Bengal and widely expected to become the next chief minister following the party’s victory, repeatedly centred his campaign speeches and public statements on the issue of alleged illegal Bangladeshi infiltration, frequently referring to “Bangladeshi Muslim intruders” and Rohingya migrants.

In July 2025, Suvendu Adhikari declared, “First, these Rohingyas and Bangladeshi Muslim intruders should be deleted from the voter list. Then they should be expelled from the country… Not a single Rohingya or Bangladeshi Muslim intruder will stay here. This is our commitment.”

He claimed there are around 1 crore (10 million) “Rohingya immigrants, Bangladeshi Muslim voters, deceased, duplicate, and fake voters” in West Bengal’s electoral rolls and demanded a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) like in Bihar to remove them.

He has warned that without action, West Bengal could turn into “Greater Bangladesh” or “West Bangladesh” due to demographic changes from infiltration.

Notably, in December 2025, Adhikari led a protest march to the Bangladesh deputy high commission in Kolkata, where he declared that Bangladesh should be “taught a lesson like Israel taught Gaza” and threatened to obstruct the functioning of the diplomatic mission in India.

The BJP’s campaign also coincided with the controversial special intensive revision of electoral rolls, through which nearly nine million voters were removed, with reports indicating that around one-third of those excluded were Muslims.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who campaigned alongside Adhikari, similarly spoke publicly about pushing people across the border.

Responding to questions in Dhaka regarding the remarks made by Adhikari and Sarma, Rahman said Bangladesh had already protested similar statements in the past and would continue to take necessary diplomatic measures.

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Bangladesh had summoned India’s acting high commissioner Pawan Badhe to the foreign ministry on April 30 over Sarma’s comments, calling such statements “counterproductive” and urging Indian political leaders to exercise restraint on sensitive bilateral matters.

The move marked the first formal protest lodged by the new BNP-led government since taking office.

Rahman also addressed the long-pending Teesta water-sharing dispute between the two countries. The proposed Teesta agreement has remained stalled since 2011 after then West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee opposed the deal, arguing it would adversely affect farmers in the state.

When asked whether the BJP’s victory in West Bengal could revive negotiations over the Teesta treaty, Rahman said it was too early to speculate before the new government clarified its position.

He stressed that communities living along the Teesta river were facing a severe ecological and economic crisis and said Bangladesh would pursue all available options in the interest of its people.

Bangladesh also reiterated its commitment to the Chinese-backed Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project, which focuses on dredging and embankment works along the river.

India had earlier proposed financing the project itself during former foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra’s visit to Dhaka in May 2024, a move widely viewed as an attempt to counter Chinese influence near the strategically sensitive Siliguri Corridor.

The developments come at a time when India and Bangladesh are attempting to rebuild ties after a prolonged period of diplomatic strain following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina in August 2024 during a mass uprising.

Relations deteriorated further during the transition overseen by the interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.

This article originally published in Maktoob Media click here