DHAKA: Bangladesh cannot be intimidated with "barbed wire", PM Tarique Rahman's foreign affairs adviser Humaiun Kobir said Monday as the new BJP government in West Bengal in its first cabinet meeting decided to transfer land to the Border Security Force (BSF) for fencing the border with Bangladesh.
Targeting West Bengal CM
Targeting Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, Kobir said election rhetoric and actual governance are two different issues and "Bangladesh wants to see whether the Adhikari government is following election rhetoric in governance".
"People of Bangladesh are not afraid of barbed wire... The government of Bangladesh is also not afraid; where we need to talk, we will talk," he told reporters, days after Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman warned Dhaka would take action if "push-back" incidents — forcibly evicting people — occur following the change of government in Bengal.
Humane approach needed
Humaiun said the Indian government should adopt a more "humane approach" in resolving border security issues if it wants to strengthen people-to-people relations, adding that their relationship is primarily with the Indian central government. "We do not want to become involved in their internal politics," he said.
On alleged "push-back" and killings along the border, Humaiun said Bangladesh would not remain silent if people continued to be killed along the border. "Bangladesh has its own plans and responses. I hope matters will not proceed in that direction," he stated.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has been placed on high alert following the assembly polls in Bengal, assuring that the force remains fully prepared to prevent border infiltration.
