Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has sparked fresh controversy after openly describing how authorities carry out “pushbacks” of alleged illegal immigrants — shoving them across the border into Bangladesh at night, at points where Bangladeshi security forces are not present.
In an interview with ABP Live, Sarma was candid about the mechanics of the operation. “Ek bhi Bangladeshi ku pushback karna, it is not an easy thing (pushing back even a single Bangladeshi is not an easy task),” he said.
Sarma explained that the process is complicated by the presence of Bangladeshi border forces on the other side, making a straightforward handover impossible. “They do not accept them. There is no extradition treaty between India and Bangladesh,” he said.
That claim, however, is factually incorrect. India and Bangladesh signed an extradition treaty in Dhaka in 2013, which established a formal legal framework for the two countries to surrender individuals accused or convicted of crimes in the other country. While its primary purpose is to suppress cross-border crime, the treaty also permits the extradition of each country’s own nationals.
The CM went on to describe the logistics. Pushbacks, he said, are carried out at night in locations where the BGB — the Border Guard Bangladesh, formerly known as the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) until 2010 — is absent.
Individuals are held by the Border Security Force (BSF) for anywhere between 10 and 40 days while authorities identify a stretch of the border with no BGB presence. “Uss jaga me usko dhakka lagake bhejdete hai (in that place, they are shoved and sent back),” Sarma said.
When the baffled reporter pressed him on whether the practice was legally sound, Sarma was unapologetic. “Haan, aap hakikat nahi jaante hai jo BSF kya karte hai (Yes, you don’t know the reality of what the BSF does),” he replied.
Supreme Court order cited as justification
Sarma defended the pushbacks by citing a Supreme Court order that, he said, empowers District Magistrates to evict those suspected of being non-citizens.
“Because it is written that we can evict them from our country, push back karna shuru kiya (we started pushing back),” he said. Asked where exactly those being expelled were being sent, his answer was very blunt. “That is not mentioned in the Supreme Court order.”
“You have to take them to a convenient location near the Bangladesh border and practically push them. That is called a pushback,” he said.
‘Create an environment which forces people out’
Sarma declined to give figures on how many people had been pushed back in the past year. Instead, he pointed to the Sarupathar constituency, where more than 12,000 names were dropped from the voter list after officials could not locate those individuals during verification checks.
“Mai itna hi batata hu ki push back karna chahiye, you should push back aur ek mahaul banao Assam ki log khud hi chala jaye (I can only say that pushbacks should be done, and such an environment should be created in Assam that people choose to leave on their own),” he said.
Bangladesh summons Indian envoy over remarks
Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry has summoned India’s acting High Commissioner Pawan Badhe and lodged a formal protest over certain comments made by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, according to a media report.
Director General (South Asia) Ishrat Jahan conveyed Bangladesh’s position to the Indian diplomat on Thursday, an official was quoted as saying by the UNB news service.
In a social media post, Sarma last week said 20 foreign nationals were apprehended in Assam and pushed back to Bangladesh.
“Rude people don’t understand soft language. We continuously remind ourselves of this prophetic line when we expel infiltrators from Assam who don’t leave themselves. For instance, these 20 illegal Bangladeshis who were PUSHED BACK last night,” Sarma said.
Ishrat told the Indian diplomat that such comments undermine the spirit of friendly relations between the two countries.
Remarks disparaging to Bangladesh-India relations: Ishrat Jahan
The official described the remarks as “disparaging” to Bangladesh-India relations and expressed Dhaka’s displeasure.
Ishrat highlighted the importance of exercising restraint when addressing sensitive bilateral issues.
The relations between India and Bangladesh witnessed a major downturn after the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus came to power following the collapse of the Hasina government in 2024.
India and Bangladesh are making efforts to rebuild bilateral ties after Tarique Rahman became prime minister following his Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s victory in the February parliamentary polls.
(With excerpts from PTI)
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