Following the regime change in West Bengal, the issue of repatriation of 'illegal Bangladeshis' has got a new momentum in Indian mainstream media as the newly elected Chief Minister of West Bengal Suvendu Adhikari has started commenting on Bangladesh's issues including extradition of former primer Sheikh Hasina, illegal presence of Bangladeshi in India and border issues.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal also discussed the issue, he said about 2,860 nationality verification cases were pending with Bangladesh…. some for more than five years.
"Stakeholders aware of the formal direction of India's neighbourhood policy said India's commitment to normalise ties with Bangladesh will not be affected by remarks from individual commentators who may have differing opinions," The Hindu writes.
The Hindu was told that stakeholders at multiple levels, especially at the level of States, may look at India's neighbourhood from their point of view. However, that cannot be interpreted as a reflection of Delhi's current position which remains focused on re-tracking ties with Dhaka after nearly 15 months of turbulence that followed the toppling of the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024.
"After Bangladesh elected a BNP government in February 2026, New Delhi has been trying to put its ties with Dhaka back on track after months of instability during the interim government. The remarks made by Suvendu Adhikari and Himanta Biswa Sarma were generally viewed by officials as contrary to India's current official policy towards Bangladesh," The Hindu writes.
"Our policy is that all illegal foreign nationals staying in India must be repatriated as per our laws, procedure and established bilateral arrangements," Jaiswal added.
The Indian response came days after Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman and Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said Dhaka would take "appropriate measures" if attempts are made to "push-in" individuals from India across the India-Bangladesh land boundary.
The matter had gained attention in Dhaka after Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had referred, in an interview, to his government's policy on "pushing-in" Bangladeshi migrants through the unguarded land boundary without going through the procedures laid down by the MEA, it writes.
However, on Thursday termed the repatriation of alleged undocumented Bangladeshi nationals as the "core issue", after Bangladesh warned it would act if "push-in" incidents increased following the BJP's victory in the West Bengal assembly elections, Times of India reports.
"These comments must be seen in the context of the core issue of repatriation of illegal Bangladeshis from India. This requires cooperation from Bangladesh. Over 2,862 cases of nationality verification are pending with Bangladesh, some for over five years," Mr. Jaiswal said.
"India has a focus on security for its own interests but on the other hand, what India also wants to do is to ensure that it pursues policies in the neighborhood, minus Pakistan," said Pankaj Saran, former High commissioner of India to Dhaka has said during an interaction with a visiting media delegation during a week-long visit to India from 3-9 May from Bangladesh at Sushma Swaraj Institute, highlighting India's relations with the South Asian countries and beyond amid changing global scenarios.
We have to see how the new government in Bangladesh will manage its relations with China, Pakistan, and the United States, and where India will fit into this, said the expert, who served in key positions within the Government of India in the Prime Minister's Office, the National Security Council Secretariat, the Ministry of External Affairs, and in several Indian Missions abroad.
The aspect of security for India is a very important element of India's policy in the neighborhood, said Pankaj Saran, Convenor of NatStrat, a Delhi-based independent centre for research on strategic and security issues, noting that India is keen to open a 'new page' in ties with Bangladesh after February 12 elections.
Bangladesh-India relationship has suffered for many reasons, definitely, one was security, the period from 2001 to 2006 was a period in which the relationship almost broke down because of Indian concerns over the use of Bangladeshi territory for terrorist activities against India in the Northeast, and Bangladesh's denials. So, we were actually stuck, he said.
Pankaj Saran said there was no dialogue taking place at that time - India would say something, but Bangladesh would reject it and due to that the result was that people suffered, everyone suffered, and our initiatives could not move forward.
Pankaj Saran said it is remarkable that on the next day after the February election, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent a congratulatory message to new Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and the next day, Tarique Rahman also tweeted back, acknowledging the Indian Prime Minister's congratulatory message.
There was a phone call. And this has set the stage for finding a new kind of relationship with Bangladesh, Pankaj Saran said.
This is very different from the atmosphere in the relationship under the Yunus regime. So, India did not waste a moment to express its willingness and desire to open a new page with the new Prime Minister and to recognise the result of the elections in Bangladesh, he said.
