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Published : 21 May 2026, 08:37 PM
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) is on maximum alert to prevent any illegal push-ins.
Speaking at a press briefing at the Secretariat on Thursday, he also described the implementation of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) by the newly formed government in India's West Bengal as an "internal matter" of that country.
His statement follows a declaration by West Bengal’s newly elected Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, whose BJP administration swept to power in the recent state assembly elections.
Following his first cabinet meeting, Suvendu announced immediate steps to enforce the CAA and deport those excluded from its purview, labelling them "illegal Bangladeshis".
“Those who are not covered under the CAA will be detained and handed over directly to the Border Security Force (BSF),” Suvendu told reporters in Kolkata, outlining a policy of "detect, delete, and deport".
He added that the state had instructed all border-adjacent police stations to enforce the directive.
When asked about the West Bengal chief minister's aggressive stance on deportations, Salahuddin reiterated Dhaka's diplomatic position while assuring border security.
“This is entirely an internal matter of India. Their CAA or Assam's National Register of Citizens (NRC) are their own domestic laws concerning their citizens. We have no room to comment on that," he said.
"However, as far as our borders are concerned, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) is on maximum alert to ensure that no illegal push-ins take place under any circumstances," he added.
The home adviser also addressed growing speculation on the return of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India in August 2024 following a student-led protest and faces multiple death warrants for human rights abuses.
"We want her back through formal legal channels," Salahuddin said.
"An official request has already been placed through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, invoking the existing extradition treaty between Bangladesh and India, so that she can be brought back to face the cases lodged against her in the local courts," he concluded.
The West Bengal government is also advancing a plan to swiftly secure its border that is still not "secured" with fences, announcing that the BSF will receive necessary land in 45 days, according to a state-owned Indian media outlet.
Out of the 4,096km border between the two nations, India has already fenced 3,240km.
West Bengal shares more than 2,200km of its border with Bangladesh.
In April, India unveiled a border security plan that grabbed widespread international media attention. The plan involves using snakes and crocodiles to guard riverine gaps where traditional fencing is difficult or physically impossible to install.
