Mamata Banerjee Offers Refuge to Bangladesh Violence Victims Amid Crisis

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee announced her state would welcome and shelter refugees fleeing the escalating violence in Bangladesh. Citing UN resolutions, Banerjee assured aid for distressed Bangladeshis while urging local residents to avoid provocation. BJP has called for consultation with the Centre on foreign policy matters.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced on Sunday that, in light of escalating violence in Bangladesh, her state would offer shelter to people in distress from the neighboring country.

Citing the United Nations Resolution on refugees, Banerjee spoke at the 'Martyrs Day' rally of the TMC in Kolkata, acknowledging the potential humanitarian crisis due to the severe law and order breakdown in Bangladesh.

“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 stated.

She referenced the example of Assamese people allowed to stay in North Bengal during the Bodo strife and assured aid to Bengal residents whose relatives might be stuck due to the violence. She also offered assistance to Bangladeshis in Bengal facing difficulties in returning home and urged residents to avoid provocation.

However, BJP Bengal unit president and junior union minister Sukanta Majumdar criticized Banerjee for not consulting the Centre, noting the need to coordinate on foreign policy matters. Violence in Dhaka and other areas stems from protests demanding reforms in the government job quota system for relatives of 1971 war veterans.