Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is set to visit India from October 3 to October 5, in which apart from bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she will also address the India Economic Summit of the World Economic Forum on October 4.
Political experts, however, are of the view that Modi-Hasina talks will primarily be dominated by Dhaka’s concerns about 1.9 million people excluded from the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
“During the talks, the Bangladeshi side is expected to bring up its concerns that those excluded from the NRC in Assam could be deported,” reported Hindustan Times.
Assam finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently said, “India will have to convince Bangladesh to accept its citizens who had settled in India illegally”.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar, however, during his August Bangladesh visit told his Bangladeshi counterpart, AK Abdul, that NRC update and identifying illegal migrants in Assam is India’s “internal matter”.
“Process of deciding the fate of 1.9 million people left out of the NRC is expected to be fairly long. They have the right to appeal to Foreigners Tribunals and higher courts,” said an external affairs ministry statement on Thursday.