10,000 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants sent out of Bengal so far, says CM Suvendu Adhikari

Kolkata: About 10,000 Bangladeshi illegal immigrants have been sent out of West Bengal by the Border Security Force (BSF) till date, while 1,800 are still lodged in 12 holding centres in the state, chief minister Suvendu Adhikari said in the assembly on Tuesday.

Speaking in the assembly, Adhikari said, "The genuine citizens of India have no reason to worry. It does not matter which religion or community they belong to or their political affiliation," adding that action would continue against those residing in the state illegally. "The barbed-wire fencing along 600 kilometres of the border in Bengal will be completed within the next six months, as the country's safety and security are our priority," he added.

"The illegal immigrants will be pushed back to Bangladesh. We will not send them to jail and provide them with free food and medicines. Instead, that money will be used for Annapurnar Yojana and other welfare schemes," the chief minister said, adding that after his previous message, many Bangladeshi immigrants had left the country and returned through the Hakimpur border.


He said that, to date, 142.79 acres of land have been handed over to the BSF for fencing along the Indo-Bangladesh border.

Adhikari also slammed the previous Trinamool government, alleging that land was not handed over to the BSF because of vote-bank and appeasement politics.