The Bangladesh government on Thursday summoned acting Indian High Commissioner Pawan Badhe to protest what it described as “anti-Bangladesh remarks” made by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Dhaka Tribune reported.
It was unclear what remarks made by Sarma had led to the action by Dhaka.
Director General (South Asia) Ishrat Jahan conveyed Dhaka’s position on the matter to Badhe during a meeting at the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Daily Star quoted an unidentified official as saying.
Dhaka described Sarma’s remarks as “disparaging” to bilateral relations and expressed its displeasure to New Delhi, The Times of India reported.
No statement was issued after the meeting.
Sarma’s recent comments
The Indian High Commissioner was summoned weeks after Sarma’s interview to Indian channel ABP News that was broadcast on April 15, in which he commented about relations between New Delhi and Dhaka, and security concerns.
“We like it when India-Bangladesh relations are not good,” Sarma said during the interview. “Because when relations are good, the Indian government also does not want to push back [undocumented migrants]. Therefore, people of Assam feel good when there is a hostile atmosphere between India and Bangladesh…When there is a friendly atmosphere, all things become loose.”
He added: “I always pray to God that the situation that the India-Bangladesh relationship should not improve. Then the BSF [Border Security Force] is on guard and the [Indian] Army also comes in, so people [undocumented migrants] cannot come in [from Bangladesh]…When relations improve, it’s alarming for Assam.”
“I pray to God…that the situation that existed during [Muhammad] Yunus’ time should remain the same, and that relations should not improve,” the Bharatiya Janata Party leader said.
Dhaka’s summons for Badhe also came after Sarma on April 25 claimed that 20 undocumented migrants from Bangladesh had been apprehended and sent back.
“Rude people don’t understand soft language,” the BJP leader had said on social media. “We continuously remind ourselves of this prophetic line when we expel infiltrators from Assam who don’t leave themselves.”
Bilateral relations
Ties between New Delhi and Dhaka had been strained after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India in August 2024 following weeks of widespread student-led protests against her Awami League government. She had been in power for 16 years.
Following Hasina’s ouster, Yunus, a Nobel laureate economist, headed Bangladesh’s interim government.
There has been a thaw in the bilateral relationship after the Bangladesh Nationalist Party came to power in the parliamentary elections held in February. Tarique Rahman, the chairperson of the party, became the prime minister.
Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman had visited Delhi on April 10, marking the first high-level bilateral engagement hosted by India since the Hasina government was ousted.
The police in several states ruled by the BJP have been detaining Bengali-speaking persons – mostly Muslims – and asked them to prove that they are Indian citizens since the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam in April 2025.
Several persons have been forced into Bangladesh after they allegedly could not prove their Indian citizenship. In some cases, persons who were mistakenly sent to Bangladesh returned to the country after state authorities in India proved that they were Indians.
Sarma has repeatedly said that the Assam government was committed to ensuring an “infiltration-free” Assam, claiming that about 35 to 40 “illegal” immigrants were being “pushed back” every week.
In January, the chief minister said that the state government would “push back” undocumented migrants into Bangladesh within a week of them being declared foreigners by the Foreigners’ Tribunals, which are quasi-judicial bodies that adjudicate on matters of citizenship.
The tribunals have been accused of arbitrariness and bias, and of declaring people foreigners on the basis of minor spelling mistakes, a lack of documents or lapses in memory.
The state government did not need a repatriation treaty between New Delhi and Dhaka for this, he added.
Sarma had also said the Assam government had forced 2,000 persons into Bangladesh between October and December, adding that the policy had been adopted after the revival of the 1950 Immigrants Expulsion from Assam Act.
The Act grants power to district commissioners and senior superintendents of police to expel “illegal migrants” from the state by bypassing the Foreigners’ Tribunals.
Also read:
Why experts contest Assam CM’s use of 1950 law to justify forcing out people into Bangladesh
Bangladeshi or Indian? Investigating Modi government’s crackdown on ‘illegal immigrants’
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