GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said that the state’s border with Bangladesh is secure and there has been no illegal border crossings by the minorities amid the ongoing unrest.
He told the media that the Assam government had not received any instructions from the Centre to allow entry to these people from Bangladesh.
“The government of India hasn’t taken any decision on the matter. On the contrary, it has issued directions to us to keep the border completely sealed,” Sarma said.
He was certain that the Centre would pressure the new government in Bangladesh, politically as well as diplomatically, to ensure safety to the lives and properties of the minorities.
“The issue cannot be resolved by bringing 20-30 people to India from Bangladesh. The solution will only come by ensuring their safety. I'm sure that the United Nations and the Indian government will solve the matter diplomatically,” Sarma added.
“The government of India has instructed us to not talk much about it to the mediaand maintain patience,” he said.
Many people from Bangladesh flee to India in hope of entry
Given the prevailing insecurity in Bangladesh, many people from minority communities fled to the Indian border, hoping that they would be allowed entry into India.
Sarma is concerned that the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government might pose security threats to the Northeast.
“Assam is concerned over the situation in Bangladesh. Bangladesh was a safe haven for the insurgents of the Northeast for long. But the region became secured in the last 10-15 years,” Sarma had stated on Wednesday.
He was confident that the central government would talk to the new government in Bangladesh to make sure the militant groups of the Northeast could not set up new camps.
India credits Hasina for driving out the Northeast insurgents from its soil. During her second term as the PM (2009-14), most leaders of the United Liberation Front of Assam or ULFA were arrested by Bangladeshi authorities and handed over to India.