KOLKATA: India has deported nearly 5,000 Bangladeshi citizens since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist party swept to power in West Bengal last month, according to official statistics. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a sweeping victory in elections in the eastern border state of more than 100 million people, promising to “detect, delete and deport” illegal migrants. India shares a long and porous border with Muslim-majority Bangladesh, where migration has historically been driven by economic hardship and longstanding family links.

Adhikari asserted that illegal immigration was a big issue, and said his government has already handed over land to the BSF to erect around 100 km of fencing. | India News

Suvendu Adhikari said that 836 more ‘illegal infiltrators’ kept in holding centres will also soon be deported to the neighbouring country.