KOLKATA: The Bengal assembly on Tuesday passed a resolution against the Centre’s decision to extend the Border Security Force’s jurisdiction from 15 to 50 kilometres inside the India-Bangladesh border.
The move, calling the Centre’s decision an “assault” on India’s federal structure, was okayed by a vote of 112-63 and made Bengal the second state after Punjab to oppose the extension of BSF jurisdiction in Assam, Bengal and Punjab.
“We demand this decision be withdrawn immediately,” parliamentary affairs minister Partha Chatterjee said while moving the resolution. It was a “ploy” to establish control in the border districts, he added. “The BSF will have control over 32,400 of Bengal’s 88,752sq km area. It is a ploy to usurp power through the backdoor,” Chatterjee said.
BJP MLA and assembly opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari said the Centre should extend the BSF jurisdiction to 80km within the border. “The state government opposes the withdrawal of central forces from Jangalmahal but also opposes extending the BSF’s jurisdiction,” Adhikari said, pointing out a “dichotomy”. Adhikari also referred to the letter Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee wrote to PM Narendra Modi and wanted Chatterjee to wait for Modi’s reply.
Chatterjee, however, said the state government had waited for the PM’s reply for 23 days. “The Centre sent the Union home secretary to Kolkata but did not have the courtesy to reply to the CM’s letter,” he said.
There was commotion during the debate when Dinhata Trinamool MLA Udayan Guha commented on the frisking of women by BSF personnel on duty along the border. “BSF personnel touch them inappropriately on the pretext of conducting searches. A child living along the border cannot be patriotic if s/he sees the mother suffering; it does not matter how high-pitched your ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’ slogan is,” Guha said.
BJP MLAs led by Natabari MLA Mihir Goswami wanted assembly speaker Biman Banerjee to expunge the “derogatory” remarks from the proceedings. Guha was then seen rising from his seat and threatening Goswami. A visibly annoyed speaker, however, refrained from expunging the remark.
