Staff Reporter :
The Bangladesh government has lodged a strong protest against remarks made by Indian Home Minister Amit Shah regarding Bangladeshi illegal immigrants.
On Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs handed over a formal note of protest to the Deputy High Commissioner of India in Dhaka, expressing dissatisfaction over Shah’s comments during a recent election rally in Jharkhand, India.
In his speech, Shah had threatened to “hang upside down” every illegal Bangladeshi immigrant if his party, the BJP, formed the government in Jharkhand.
The remarks were part of a broader narrative linking the alleged rise in illegal immigration from Bangladesh to the decline in the indigenous tribal population in the region.
Shah’s comments align with previous statements made by BJP leaders, including his 2018 comparison of Bangladeshi immigrants to “termites.”
Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the remarks as “highly inappropriate” and “deplorable,” urging the Indian government to advise its political leaders to refrain from making such objectionable and unacceptable statements.
The ministry stressed that these remarks, coming from a high-ranking official, undermine the spirit of mutual respect and cooperation between the two neighboring countries.