India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has directed authorities in West Bengal to establish detention centers for undocumented Bangladeshis and Rohingya Muslims, triggering alarm among minority communities and rights groups who fear the move could pave the way for arbitrary expulsions and intensified crackdowns.
The directive comes just days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP won power in the eastern state for the first time since the country's independence in 1947.
The order calls on local authorities to set up "holding centers" for "apprehended foreigners" awaiting deportation, as part of a broader crackdown on illegal migration.
The government has defended its "detect, delete, deport" principle, saying those targeted are migrants staying illegally in the country.
"Illegal migration has security and socio-economic ramifications which are often well beyond law enforcement," read the order, issued last week.
