‘Not Afraid Of Barbed Wires’: Bangladesh Objects To West Bengal Govt’s Border-Fencing Plan

way2barak May 12: Days after securing a sweeping Assembly election victory, the new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in West Bengal on Monday announced that land required for fencing the India-Bangladesh border would be handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF) within 45 days, prompting a response from Bangladesh over the move and the rhetoric surrounding it.

Chairing the first Cabinet meeting at Nabanna, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said the transfer process would begin immediately and give the BSF full control over the land needed to complete the fencing work along the international border.

“In our very first Cabinet meeting today, we have taken the decision to transfer the land to the BSF. The process begins today and will be completed within the next 45 days. Once this is accomplished, the BSF will complete the border fencing and the issue of illegal infiltration will be resolved within a short period,” Adhikari told reporters after the meeting.

The announcement drew a reaction from Bangladesh, where Humaiun Kobir, foreign affairs adviser to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, said the country would not be pressured by fencing measures.

“People of Bangladesh are not afraid of barbed wire… The government of Bangladesh is also not afraid; where we need to talk, we will talk,” Kobir said.

Targeting Adhikari, he added that election campaigning and governance were different matters. “Bangladesh wants to see whether the Adhikari govt is following election rhetoric in governance,” he said, while also remarking that “Dhaka cannot be intimidated with barbed wire”