The issue of Bangladeshi infiltrators surfaced during the Bihar Assembly elections. Prior to that, during the Jharkhand Assembly elections, infiltrators were also described as a major threat. With the Assam and West Bengal Assembly elections approaching, the issue of infiltrators is once again being discussed. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who recently visited Bengal, stated that if the BJP forms the government in the state, infiltrators will be selectively expelled. Earlier, he had stated in Assam that if the BJP forms the government for the third time, it would not take long to expel infiltrators. This means that the expulsion of Bangladeshi infiltrators has not been carried out in Assam for the past ten years. Everyone should ask why? It is not right to discuss infiltrators only during elections and then do nothing. This would only alert infiltrators and those who facilitate them.

Assam is one of the states most affected by Bangladeshi infiltration. Besides Assam, Bangladeshis also infiltrate through Meghalaya and Tripura. The infiltrator who attacked film actor Saif Ali Khan came to Mumbai via Meghalaya. Bangladeshi infiltrators are successful in entering border states and moving to other states because they obtain fake identity cards, making their work easier. Bangladeshis who infiltrated the Northeast and Bengal have even settled in Gujarat, Karnataka, and Delhi. Occasionally, some state governments launch campaigns to identify them, but so far, no campaign has proven effective.

Thousands of Bangladeshis were apprehended in Gujarat during Operation Sindoor. It’s natural that many Bangladeshis would have fled to other states during this operation. The story of Bangladeshi infiltrators is the same for Rohingyas. The way Rohingyas, after infiltrating through the Northeast and Bengal, have successfully established bases in Delhi, Hyderabad, and even Jammu makes it clear that their infiltration and settlement in India is being carried out in a systematic manner. Those involved in this work also provide fake certificates to infiltrators. Such individuals are very active in Bengal.

Undoubtedly, preventing infiltration is the central government’s responsibility, but it’s also true that if state governments don’t cooperate with the central government in this task, identifying infiltrators is difficult. The Bengal government is right in saying that if infiltration is taking place, the central government is responsible for it. However, the central government should also answer the question: why is no complaint ever filed by the state administration regarding infiltration? The fact is that no police station in Bengal has received any complaint alleging illegal entry from Bangladesh.

Complaints are also not received because local leaders view infiltrators as their vote bank. Mamata Banerjee once spoke out against infiltration, but since becoming Chief Minister of Bengal, she has opposed any initiative to identify infiltrators. A major reason for opposition to the Special Intensive Revision of Voter Lists (SIR) is the fear that it might identify infiltrators. As soon as the SIR process began in Bengal, hundreds of Bangladeshis began returning to their country.

After some time, their return stopped. One can understand that this stopped because they were convinced that this exercise would not reveal their identity. It is not surprising that their patron leaders themselves assured them that they need not worry. Whatever the case, there is no denying that there are a large number of Bangladeshi infiltrators in India. In Assam and Bengal, their numbers have become so large that they have not only severely disrupted the population balance but are also in a position to influence election results in many areas because they have become voters through fraud.

Infiltrators not only burden the country’s resources but also pose a significant threat to national security. This threat could become even more serious now, as relations with Bangladesh are no longer the same, and there is no assurance that the new government there will be interested in improving relations with India. These days, Pakistan is not only making every effort to portray Bangladesh as its friend but is also inciting it against India. In these circumstances, a nationwide campaign must be launched by the central government to identify and expel illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas. When the Citizenship Act was amended, it was stated that after its implementation, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) would be initiated, but currently there is no discussion of such a campaign. Everyone should ask why?