Serampore (Bengal):Â Narendra Modi has said that Bangladeshi immigrants will be deported if he comes to power. They have been given the red carpet welcome by politicians just for votes, he said at a rally on Sunday.
“You can write it down. After May 16, these Bangladeshis better be prepared with their bags packed,” Modi said in Serampore in West Bengal, which shares a porous border with Bangladesh.
Targeting the state’s Trinamool Congress government, Modi said, “You are spreading the red carpet for vote bank politics. If people come from Bihar, they are outsiders to you. It people come from Odisha, they are outsiders to you. But if some Bangladeshi comes, your face seems to shine.
“This country cannot run like this. We won’t allow you to destroy the country for the sake of your vote bank politics.”
Modi also attacked Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee saying her government had done “more damage in the 35 months that the Left had in 35 years.”
Deporting Bangladeshi immigrants has always been a part of the BJP’s agenda, but this is the sharpest indicator that Modi plans to make it a big issue if he comes to power after the national election. Recently, BJP president Rajnath Singh said people who came from Bangladesh after 1971 and settled in Assam or elsewhere in the country should be treated as illegal migrants and necessary action be taken against them.
Some reports suggest that there are about 20 million Bangladeshi immigrants in India at present, but there are no reliable figures.
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