Sending an official note to New Delhi, Bangladesh registered protests over Mamata’s remark.”With due respect to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, I would like to say, we have excellent relations with her. We have deep relations. But her remarks created confusion to some extent, and there is scope to be misled,” Bangladesh’s foreign minister said.
Meanwhile, West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose also sought a report from Mamata Banerjee on her comment. The Raj Bhavan implied that the state did not have constitutional power and it was the Centre’s prerogative to handle anything that is part of external affairs.
The row over started after Mamata referred to United Nations resolution to accommodate refugees and said that her government would provide shelter to people from violence-hit Bangladesh, not turning anyone away ‘if they come knocking on our doors.’ “That’s because there is a United Nations resolution to accommodate refugees in regions adjacent to those in turmoil,” the West Bengal CM claimed.
‘Power not with state government,’ says BJP
Irked by the comments, BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad said that decisions on these matters rest solely with the central government and that state governments do not possess the constitutional authority or power to take calls on these matters.
“Mamata Ji, you are the same person who said about CAA that we will not let any Hindu, Sikh, Parsi or Christian refugee suffering from violence enter Bengal. Mamata ji has always opposed CAA, whereas CAA had absolutely no relation with the citizens of India, be it Hindu or Muslim,” the former Union minister said in a press briefing on Monday.
BJP also accused the TMC supremo of hypocrisy for offering to shelter those displaced by the protests and violence in neighboring Bangladesh while deliberately not doing the same for Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, or Christians who seek refuge through the CAA brought in by the Union government.
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla asked if Bengal was a “separate nation.”
“Is Bengal a separate nation?! Left wants a foreign secretary for Kerala! TMC sows seeds of separatism in the name of appeasement. What does INDIA bloc WANT? balkanisation of Bharat? Some people divide India on caste, language and religion,” BJP’s national spokesperson charged.
TMC defends Mamata’s remark
However, the TMC has outright defended the West Bengal CM’s right to speak to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina about the ongoing violence over quota system for civil service jobs in the country, said TMC leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay highlighting their “good relationship”.
“Mamata Didi has a good relationship with Bangladesh’s PM. If needed, both of them can talk to each other,” Bandyopadhyay said. His statement came amid Bangladesh protests that claimed over 150 people who demanded reforms for the quota system. “I can’t comment on Bangladesh (issue), as it’s a separate country….but if helpless individuals knock on Bengal’s door, we will shelter them because a United Nations resolution allows neighboring regions to assist those in trouble,” she said.
Protests have erupted in Bangladesh demanding changes to the quota system that reserves civil service jobs for certain groups, including the descendants of 1971 war veterans. The unrest intensified when students opposed a new policy that allocated government jobs to descendants of freedom fighters, leading to violent incidents such as attacks on state television headquarters and police booths in Dhaka.
The Bangladesh government in response imposed a curfew, closed schools, and suspended mobile and internet services across the country. Following protests that resulted in over 100 deaths, Bangladesh’s Supreme Court stepped in, reducing the quota for relatives of war veterans from 30 percent to 5 percent.