Bangladesh objects to Mamata Banerjee's call to offer shelter to refugees amid unrest
"We want to make it clear that her remarks have a lot of scope for creating confusion," said Bangladesh Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud
Bangladesh has raised an objection to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s recent statement offering “shelter to helpless people” from strife-torn Bangladesh.
The neighbouring country has sent a note to New Delhi flagging its concern about the matter.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud, as quoted by Somoy TV, said, “With due respect to the West Bengal Chief Minister, with whom we share a very warm and close relationship, we want to make it clear that her remarks have a lot of scope for creating confusion. Therefore, we have sent a note to the Government of India.”
A few days back, Mamata had said that she would keep the doors of her state open for people in distress from the neighbouring country and offer them shelter in the wake of the escalating violence in Bangladesh.
She referred to the United Nations resolution on refugees as justification for her stand over a possible humanitarian crisis that may emerge on account of the severe law and order breakdown that has gripped the neighbouring country over the past few days.
“I should not be speaking on the affairs of Bangladesh since that is a sovereign nation and whatever needs to be said on the issue is the subject matter of the Centre. But I can tell you this, if helpless people come knocking on the doors of West Bengal, we will surely provide them shelter,” Mamata said at the ‘Martyrs Day’ rally of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Kolkata.
“That’s because there is a United Nations resolution to accommodate refugees in regions adjacent to those in turmoil,” the West Bengal chief minister added, while drawing an example of people from Assam who were allowed to live in adjacent Alipurduar district in northern West Bengal for a considerable period during a strife in the Bodoland Territorial Region in the northeastern state.
She also appealed to the people of West Bengal not to get provoked over matters concerning the current situation in Bangladesh. “We should exercise restraint and not walk into any provocation or excitement on the issue,” she stated.
