BJP, Trinamool spar over alleged mass exfiltration of Bangladeshis amid voter roll revision

As Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday took a veiled dig at Trinamool over infiltration, the exfiltration of Bangladeshis from West Bengal's Hakimpur, border during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, has become a fresh political flashpoint between BJP and ruling Trinamool, ahead of the 2026 assembly polls.

Leader of Opposition in state assembly Suvendu Adhikari met Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti on Friday and the EC team here and informed them about the alleged demographic changes in Bengal and mass exfiltration. "The way demography has changed in Bengal is evident. Bangladeshis are crowding near the border to return to their country. The infiltrators should be removed from the list," Adhikari said. The Trinamool leadership, however, blamed the Centre and BSF for the infiltration. Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, "The border is under BSF and they keep a vigil. What was BSF doing if so many Bangladeshis entered Bengal? There should be a probe and the International Border falls under Union home minister Amit Shah."

At the border, people who have lined up are waiting to return to Bangladesh, fearing that they might be detained. Masum Billa, a Bangladeshi, who stayed in Rajarhat near Kolkata, said, "We don't have Indian documents. So, we are travelling back to Bangladesh." Sari Akhtar, from Bangladesh's Khulna, had come to Bengal a few years ago through agents. His wife worked as a domestic help while the husband worked at a fastfood shop. They are also at the Hakimpur check post returning to Bangladesh.