Amit Shah said the BJP would deport every single illegal immigrant if it returned to power.
Highlights
- Amit Shah not qualified to speak on India-Bangladesh ties: Bangladesh
- Crores of illegal immigrants are like termites, said Amit Shah at a rally
- Mr Shah had praised Assam government for National Register of Citizens
After BJP president Amit Shah described illegal immigrants as "termites" eating into the country's resources and said each one of them would be identified and thrown out, Bangladesh has reacted sharply.
"Amit Shah has made an unwanted remark by describing Bangladeshis as termites. The comment is not proper," Bangladesh Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu told NDTV.
"There is an information gap. I hope he knows no Bangladeshis are staying in India. All Bangla-speaking people living in India are not Bangladeshis. We do not give any importance to his statement as it is not an official Indian government version," the minister said, adding that he hoped Mr Shah's party would "inform him" about the real situation.
He said Amit Shah was not qualified to speak on the India-Bangladesh relationship.
"Bangladesh-India relations are excellent. Our foreign ministry will not take it up with India's foreign ministry," he said, adding that India had never taken up the issue of Bangla-speaking people with Dhaka.
Amit Shah, addressing a rally in Delhi on Sunday, had said the ruling BJP would deport every single illegal immigrant if it returned to power in the 2019 general election.
"These crores of illegal immigrants are like termites and they are eating the food that should go to our poor and they are taking our jobs. They carry out blasts in our country and so many of our people die," the BJP president said, accusing Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of "complaining" whenever any action was taken because of vote politics.
"I want to assure you that if we come to power in 2019, we will find each and every one and send them away. Action against them should not worry any patriot," he added.
He also applauded the BJP government in Assam for the revised National Register of Citizens and identifying "nearly 40 lakh" illegal immigrants.
He made similar remarks at a rally in Rajasthan.
The Bangladeshi minister said the citizen's register process in Assam and the welfare of the Bengali-speaking citizens of India are "internal issues" of India.
"At the moment we are not concerned about any situation within the states of Assam, West Bengal or any other states of India. It is an internal matter, PM Modi is handling it very nicely," said Mr Inu.