OPINION | In panic, infiltrators returning to Bangladesh
Infiltrators are now fearing early detection and deportation, after having spent decades on Indian soil freely. An India TV reporter spoke to several infiltrators near the Hakimpur border. There was one common thread running in their responses. All of them are unhappy over TMC's electoral defeat.
More than 150 infiltrators have lined up near the India-Bangladesh Hakimpur checkpost in North 24 Parganas for crossing over to their country after a statewide detection drive has begun in West Bengal.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s government has set up two ‘holding centres’ in Malda and Murshidabad, while other district collectors have been asked to set up similar holding centres.
The Chief Minister has instructed police not to send infiltrators to jails or holding centres, and hand them over to the Border Security Force, who, in turn, will hand them to the Bangladesh Border Guards.
Most of the infiltrators who have lined up near the Hakimpur border checkpost want to cross over to Bangladesh willingly. They will be given safe passage, but those hiding from police will be traced and sent to holding centres.
This is clearly the effect of the political change that has taken place in West Bengal after the BJP swept the assembly polls.
Infiltrators are now fearing early detection and deportation, after having spent decades on Indian soil freely.
An India TV reporter spoke to several infiltrators near the Hakimpur border. There was one common thread running in their responses. All of them are unhappy over the electoral defeat of Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress government.
Several infiltrators said they had no fear of detection during the TMC regime in Bengal, they could find safe places to live and got jobs. But 20 days of BJP rule in Bengal have upturned their lives. They said they want to return to Bangladesh.
And now, a question for all those who were asking during the Bengal elections: Where are the infiltrators in Bengal?
They should go to the border checkpost and find out for themselves. Those who were alleging that the Election Commission had removed the names of Indian citizens during the SIR process should listen to these infiltrators who are awaiting return to Bangladesh.
Most of them had secured voter identity cards, Aadhar cards and ration cards on false grounds. They are Bangladeshi citizens.
Till Mamata Banerjee ruled Bengal, these infiltrators had no worries about being detected. Now the sword of detection, detention and deportation hangs over their heads.
Infiltrators who are awaiting return to Bangladesh at the border are living answers to questions that Mamata Banerjee posed during her election campaign.
Who is changing India's demography?
Home Minister Amit Shah has constituted a high-level committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge Prakash Prabhakar Naolekar to study the causes behind demographic changes in India.
Amit Shah has said that unnatural demographic changes due to infiltration and other causes have become a serious issue.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to set up a high-level committee to study the reasons behind demographic changes in India in his Independence Day speech last year.
The committee includes retired senior IAS officer Durga Shanker Mishra, retired IPS officer Balaji Srivastava and economist Shamika Ravi. The Census Commissioner of India has also been included in the committee. Joint Secretary, Home Ministry, will be the member-secretary.
Amit Shah says that most of the infiltration takes place from the Pakistan and Bangladesh borders. He has decided to spend the next 20 days near the border in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tripura and Bengal and prepare an action plan.
Infiltration from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Myanmar has been taking place over the last several decades. In 2013, the then Congress-led UPA government had admitted that there are nearly 2.5 crore Bangladeshis illegally staying in India.
This has resulted in demographic changes in several states, and it can pose security risks. This matter has to be handled cautiously.
Amit Shah won laurels for uprooting left-wing extremism (Maoism) in India. One must hope he will be able to detect infiltrators and deport them at the earliest.
Bakrid: Celebrate in peace
There was tension in some residential societies in Mumbai’s Mira Bhayandar locality after more than 40 goats were brought to a shed inside a residential complex for slaughter during Bakrid.
Hindu families objected, while Muslim residents insisted they would perform Qurbani inside the complex. Bajrang Dal activists were called in. There were clashes in which several people were injured.
Police finally persuaded both sides and took away the goats in three trucks to a place earmarked by municipal authorities, where Qurbani will be performed during Bakrid.
Top Muslim maulanas have appealed to people to refrain from creating controversies during Bakrid. This is a welcome step.
The chief of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind Maulana Arshad Madani has appealed to Muslims not to perform Qurbani (slaughter) of prohibited animals, follow government guidelines, refrain from posting pictures of slaughtered animals on social media, and take the law into their own hands if any controversy arises.
Maulana Arshad Madani has also appealed to people not to throw the remains of animals slaughtered during Bakrid on roads or drains.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said, Muslim community in his state has promised not to slaughter cattle during Bakrid. Sarma said, " This will help in fostering communal brotherhood.
I think Muslims living in other states should also follow their brethren from Assam and listen to the sane advice of Maulanas. The tension that took place in a residential locality in Mumbai could have been avoided.
State governments in UP, MP, Delhi, Maharashtra, Bengal and other states have issued strict guidelines for Qurbani during Bakrid.
Everybody must follow these guidelines strictly. It is not the responsibility of Muslims alone to maintain communal harmony. Hindu outfits must also exercise patience. Action must be taken against miscreants, irrespective of religion, who deliberately try to create tension.
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