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Published : 13 May 2026, 12:59 AM
India has said border security “remains a priority” as the newly elected West Bengal government decides to provide land to the Border Security Force (BSF) for construction of barbed-wire fencing along the Bangladesh border.
The remarks came from Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal during the Ministry of External Affairs’ weekly briefing in New Delhi on Tuesday, where journalists raised several questions related to Bangladesh.
An ABP journalist asked whether the decision by West Bengal’s newly elected Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari to approve land for border fencing could affect Bangladesh-India diplomatic relations.
In response, Jaiswal said: “Border security is a priority for us and that is how we look at it.”
He, however, did not answer directly whether the decision could affect ties between the two countries.
A journalist from Business India referred to anti-India demonstrations in different parts of Bangladesh, including calls to boycott Indian products, and asked whether the ministry had any response.
Jaiswal again avoided a direct reply, saying: “We have already indicated that we are taking this relationship in a positive direction. We had the foreign minister of Bangladesh visiting India some time back, and we also had a speaker join the celebration and the inauguration of the new government in Bangladesh, so that is the trajectory of this relationship with Bangladesh at present.”
A journalist from The Hindu referred to comments by Bangladesh’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam that Bangladesh follows a “zero tolerance” policy against illegal migration, particularly on dangerous migration routes to Europe.
The journalist asked whether India expected the Bangladesh government to apply the same policy in relation to India.
Jaiswal described the issue as a matter for bilateral discussion and claimed India had, over the past several years, requested Bangladesh to verify the nationality of more than 2,860 people whom Indian authorities believe to be Bangladeshi nationals.
He said India has yet to receive a response on the matter.
Another journalist raised Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman’s recent visit to China and asked whether Bangladesh’s reported proposal to hand the Teesta development project to China instead of following the previous government’s approach would help build mutual trust.
Without directly addressing the question, Jaiswal said India closely monitors developments around the world, including the visit in question.
He added that India’s ties with neighbouring countries are based on mutual interests and stand on an independent footing.
The spokesperson also mentioned India’s energy cooperation with neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh.
He said India was supplying diesel to Bangladesh through the “high-speed diesel friendship pipeline” and had also fulfilled additional requests made by Bangladesh.
“We continue to support our neighbouring countries with their supplies,” he said.
