NEW DELHI: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday offered to provide shelter to those in distress amid the ongoing violence in Bangladesh. She cited the United Nations Resolution on refugees as justification for her stance, considering the severe law and order breakdown that has gripped Bangladesh in recent days.
“I should not be speaking on the affairs of Bangladesh since that is a sovereign nation and whatever needs to be said on the issue is a subject matter of the Centre.But I can tell you this, if helpless people come knocking on the doors of Bengal, we will surely provide them shelter,” Banerjee said.
Banerjee, speaking at the ‘Martyrs Day’ rally of the Trinamool Congress in Kolkata, drew a parallel to the situation during the Bodo strife in Assam, when Assamese people were allowed to reside in the Alipurduars area of North Bengal.
The chief minister also pledged assistance to West Bengal residents whose relatives may be stranded due to the escalating violence across the border. She extended support to Bangladeshis who visited West Bengal but encountered difficulties in returning home.
Banerjee appealed to the people of West Bengal to exercise restraint and not be provoked by matters concerning the current situation in Bangladesh, saying, “We should exercise restraint and not walk into any provocation or excitement on the issue.”
She also expressed solidarity with those affected by the ongoing violence and the students who lost their lives.
The widespread clashes across Bangladesh have claimed the lives of more than 150 people. The unrest, stemming from discontent over the allocation of government jobs, has led the government to impose a strict curfew with “shoot-on-sight” orders nationwide.
The Supreme Court of Bangladesh on Sunday scaled back the controversial quota system for civil service job applicants, reducing its scope but stopping short of complete abolition. This decision follows the system’s reinstatement last month, which sparked the deadly civil unrest across the country.
“I should not be speaking on the affairs of Bangladesh since that is a sovereign nation and whatever needs to be said on the issue is a subject matter of the Centre.But I can tell you this, if helpless people come knocking on the doors of Bengal, we will surely provide them shelter,” Banerjee said.
Banerjee, speaking at the ‘Martyrs Day’ rally of the Trinamool Congress in Kolkata, drew a parallel to the situation during the Bodo strife in Assam, when Assamese people were allowed to reside in the Alipurduars area of North Bengal.
The chief minister also pledged assistance to West Bengal residents whose relatives may be stranded due to the escalating violence across the border. She extended support to Bangladeshis who visited West Bengal but encountered difficulties in returning home.
Banerjee appealed to the people of West Bengal to exercise restraint and not be provoked by matters concerning the current situation in Bangladesh, saying, “We should exercise restraint and not walk into any provocation or excitement on the issue.”
She also expressed solidarity with those affected by the ongoing violence and the students who lost their lives.
The widespread clashes across Bangladesh have claimed the lives of more than 150 people. The unrest, stemming from discontent over the allocation of government jobs, has led the government to impose a strict curfew with “shoot-on-sight” orders nationwide.
The Supreme Court of Bangladesh on Sunday scaled back the controversial quota system for civil service job applicants, reducing its scope but stopping short of complete abolition. This decision follows the system’s reinstatement last month, which sparked the deadly civil unrest across the country.