"Bangladeshis Lying In Wait": Suvendu Adhikari To Security Forces At Bengal Border

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari -- taking a leaf out of the book of Prime Minister Narendra Modi -who spends his Diwalis with sexcurity forces -- spent most of Sunday at the 74th Battalion camp of the BSF in Hingalganj, located along the India-Bangladesh border. Later, he inaugurated the Kali Puja celebrations at the Hingalganj police station. 

On Sunday afternoon, the Chief Minister landed at a temporary helipad on the grounds of Hingalganj College and travelled by road to the BSF camp. He also took a BSF speedboat for a trip along the Icchamati River.

After inaugurating the puja at the police station, he held a brief meeting with the police and administrative officials.

Emphasising the need for coordination between the BSF and the police, the Chief Minister asserted there is no place for infiltrators in West Bengal. 

"Security will be made foolproof. I personally checked the final floating outpost - the one from which I used binoculars to scan the area - and there is nothing on the Bangladesh side. They are lying in wait, watching for the BSF to be momentarily out of sight so they can slip across," he said.

"Together, the BSF and the police have already driven out several hundred thousand infiltrators. You have nothing to worry about. We will not let a single infiltrator remain; we will hunt them all down. A search operation is in progress across a 15-kilometer stretch along the border. We will identify the infiltrators - I have the exact figures," he added.

Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh hit back, saying the BSF is controlled by the Central Government and the Ministry of Home Affairs. 

"While it is one thing to criticise them or raise questions regarding policy matters, the issue of barbed-wire fencing along the border is a significant matter, and decisions regarding it should be taken by the Central Government," he said. 

Pointing out that the BJP has been in power at the Centre since 2014, he said: "How are illegal infiltrations and the entry of Rohingyas taking place in Tripura, given that there is a BJP government there? So, whose failure is this? Is it fair to blame only West Bengal? Infiltrators are being apprehended in Tripura as well".

Mamata Banerjee, he added, has always shown respect toward BSF personnel - "after all, they are our boys".