Bangladesh asks for list of illegal migrants in India, ready to take them back

As the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), from the prism of National Register of Citizenship (NRC), grew strong across the country, Bangladesh requested India to provide a list of its nationals living illegally on the assurance of their return. Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, who recently cancelled his visit to India citing busy schedule, said that the NRC would not affect the bilateral relation of the two countries, which remains normal and “very sweet”.

Momen quoted India’s stance on NRC as its internal matter assuring Dhaka that it would not affect Bangladesh. When asked about the illegal immigrants entering Bangladesh from India, Momen said, "if anybody other than our citizens enters Bangladesh, we will send them back.” According to the foreign minister, Dhaka requested New Delhi to provide the list of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and promised their repatriation

"We will allow them (Bangladesh citizens) as they have the right to enter into their own country," said Momen.

Read: Rahul Gandhi Says NRC & CAB Are 'weapons Of Mass Polarisation'; Calls For "Satyagraha"

Reason behind cancellation

While the diplomatic sources had cited the passage of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Parliament as the reason behind the cancellation of the visit of Bangladesh’s foreign and home minister, Momen rejected it saying the schedule coincided with the Martyred Intellectuals Day and Victory Day. He claimed that the absence of the state minister for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam and the ministry's secretary compounded the problem which led to the cancellation.

Read: Mamata Banerjee Calls For A Mega Rally To Protest Against CAA And NRC In Kolkata

Nation-wide protests in India

Meanwhile, in India, massive protests are being held across the country against the CAB and NRC. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has called for a non-violent Satyagraha terming CAB and NRC as "weapons of mass polarisation" unleashed on India by fascists. "The CAB and NRC are weapons of mass polarisation unleashed by fascists on India. The best defence against these dirty weapons is peaceful, non-violent Satyagraha. I stand in solidarity with all those protesting peacefully against the CAB and NRC," tweeted Gandhi.

Read: Cong Is Playing Divisive Politics: BJP MP Roopa Ganguly On Sonia Gandhi's NRC Remark

Read: WB Governor Lashes Out At Mamata for 'unconstitutional' Ad Campaign Against CAA & NRC

(With PTI Inputs)