4,800 ‘illegals’ pushed to Bangladesh, 836 housed at holding centres: Suvendu

Kolkata: Around 4,800 people have been pushed to Bangladesh and another 836 people are in holding centers, CM Suvendu Adhikari said on Sunday at a BJP programme. Saying that border security and illegal infiltrators were some of the biggest concerns for state govt, Adhikari said: "We have started the process of handing over land to BSF. Land needs to be given across a 556-km stretch, of which we have already handed over land across 100 km. Our priority was the Chicken's Neck area in north Bengal.""We have started the work of deporting infiltrators who do not fall under the purview of CAA. There was an MHA directive to hand them over directly to BSF instead of sending them to jail. Here, however, the infiltrators used to be treated like sons-in-law and sent to jail. Now, holding stations have been set up in border districts. From there, 4,800 people have been sent across the border so far, and another 836 people are currently in the holding stations. We are making arrangements to send them over. The process will continue. This was a priority. The demography of Bengal had changed, as you all know," the CM said.Adhikari's statements came ahead of the 57th edition of the bi-annual director general-level border coordination conference between the BSF and the BGB, scheduled to be held in New Delhi between June 8 and 11.Meanwhile, a PTI report from Dhaka said that Bangladesh had said on Sunday that the issues of alleged "push-ins" by India and border killings will be discussed at an upcoming meeting between the heads of the two countries' border security forces. "The situation on the frontier, bilateral cooperation and particularly the issue of illegal push-ins will be placed with importance (by BGB)," Bangladesh home minister Salahuddin Ahmed told reporters at his office, the PTI report said. Last month, responding to a remark by a Bangladeshi minister on the issue of "push-ins", MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "We expect Bangladesh to expedite nationality verification so that repatriation of illegal immigrants can take place in a smooth manner."At the conference starting Monday, the Bangladeshi delegation will be led by BGB chief Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui while the Indian team will be headed by BSF DG Praveen Kumar. (With PTI inputs)