Rajnath Singh calls meet of CMs of states bordering Bangladesh

New Delhi, Dec 4: The influx of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis and cross-border smuggling of fake currencies and drugs would top the agenda at a meeting of chief ministers of eastern states called by Home Minister Rajnath Singh on December 7 in Kolkata.

The chief ministers and home ministers of West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram will huddle for the day-long meeting where the influx of Rohingya and Bangladeshi immigrants and how to check it would be discussed threadbare, a Home Ministry official said.

These states share their borders with Bangladesh. This would be the fourth meeting of the chief ministers of states, which share international borders, called by the home minister. Three separate meetings of chief ministers of states, sharing borders with Pakistan, China and Myanmar, was held earlier. The meeting in Kolkata on December 7 is expected to chalk out plans on how to check the cross-border smuggling of fake Indian currency notes, narcotics and other illegal activities, the official said.

India shares a 4,096 km long border with Bangladesh of which 2,217 km falls in West Bengal, 262 km in Assam, 443 km in Meghalaya, 856 km in Tripura and 180 km in Mizoram. As per the official estimate, around 36,000 Rohingyas are currently living in various parts of India. Director General of BSF K K Sharma had last week said his troops apprehended 87 Rohingya Muslims along the Indo-Bangla border from the beginning of this year till October 31, and 76 were sent back to Bangladesh.

As per latest estimates, 9-10 lakh Rohingya Muslims have migrated to Bangladesh from Myanmar and the possibility of a spillover to India cannot be ruled out, he had said. Illegal immigration from Bangladesh has also been a big concern for the north-eastern states and West Bengal for many years now, another Home Ministry official said.

PTI