3 min readNew DelhiMay 8, 2026 05:16 AM IST
INDIA ON Thursday raised the issue of repatriation of illegal Bangladesh nationals and expressed hope that Dhaka will expedite nationality verification so that repatriation can take place smoothly. The development comes days after the BJP won a landslide victory in West Bengal.
A day after the Bengal election results, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman was quoted in the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s official Facebook page as saying that Dhaka will take action if “push-in” incidents occur amid the change of power in the bordering state.
At the weekly media briefing on Thursday, Ministry of External Affairs’ official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “These comments (by Bangladesh’s minister) must be seen in the context of the core issue of repatriation of illegal Bangladeshis from India. This requires cooperation from Bangladesh. Over 2,862 cases of nationality verification are pending with Bangladesh, some for over five years. Our policy is that all illegal foreign nationals staying in India must be repatriated as per our laws, procedure and established bilateral arrangements. We expect Bangladesh to expedite nationality verification so that repatriation of illegal immigrants can take place in a smooth manner.”
On the Teesta river water sharing pact, Jaiswal said, “Bangladesh and India share 54 rivers. We have structured bilateral mechanisms to discuss all water-related issues which continue to meet at regular intervals.”
The Teesta water sharing pact has been stuck for the last 15 years, as outgoing West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had opposed it since 2011. She had claimed that she was working to protect the water needs of north Bengal. She had said the treaty would cause severe water scarcity for local residents and farmers in her state. Both the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government and the Narendra Modi-led BJP government were unsuccessful in bringing her on board.
With Mamata Banerjee out of power, and the BJP all set to form government in West Bengal, there is some expectation in Dhaka that the hurdles before the pact would be cleared out. However, it is up to the BJP to take up the political challenge of going ahead with the pact, as it might face protests from the opposition parties including TMC, Left and Congress in the state.
The diplomatic challenge, meanwhile, will be to navigate the issue of deporting illegal Bangladeshi nationals as the BJP has won the two bordering states of West Bengal and Assam on the poll plank of illegal immigration from the neighbouring country.
