Rajnath to chair key border meet
Govt committed to protecting borders with neighbouring nations, says minister
A day before chairing a meeting of states bordering Bangladesh, Union home minister Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday that Centre was committed to securing the entire borders with all neighbouring countries.
Mr Singh will hold a crucial meeting in Kolkata on Thursday where issues like infiltration of illegal Rohingya migrants and Bangladeshis would be discussed in detail.
“Centre is committed to make borders with all neighbouring countries totally foolproof and secure in the days ahead,” the home minister told the mediapersons on Wednesday.
During the meeting, the home minister and chief ministers will also discuss the ways as to how the porous Indo- Bangladesh border can be made more secure and safe in a bid to check cross- border smuggling of fake Indian currency notes, narcotics and other illegal activities, the official said.
Those expected to attend the Kolkata meeting include chief ministers of West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. This is the fourth such meeting to be chaired by the home minister.
In the past, the home minister has had similar meeting with chief ministers of states having borders with Pakistan, China and Myanmar.
India shares a vast 4,096 km- long border with Bangladesh out of this as much as 2,217 km falls is adjoining West Bengal, 262 km with Assam, 443 km is with Meghalaya, 856 km and 180 km in Tripura and Mizoram respectively.
As of now an estimated 36,000 Rohingyas are suspected to be living in different parts of India. Senior security and intelligence officials are also expected to attend the meeting.
Home ministry officials admitted that illegal immigration from Bangladesh has been a major security concern for most states in the Northeast as well as West Bengal.
BSF director- general K. K. Sharma had said last week his troops apprehended 87 Rohingya Muslims along the IndoBangla border since the beginning of the current year till October 31, of whom 76 were sent back to Bangladesh.
Nearly 9- 10 lakh Rohingya Muslims are estimated to have migrated to Bangladesh from Myanmar due to alleged persecution by the military, and the possibility of a spillover into India cannot be ruled out, he had said.