'Can't Be Intimidated With Barbed Wire': Bangladesh Responds To West Bengal Govt's Border-Fencing Plan

Last Updated:May 12, 2026, 07:31 IST

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said his government has decided to transfer land to the BSF to establish a fence along the Bangladesh border

As the new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in West Bengal announced the transfer of land to the Border Security Force (BSF) for fencing the border with Bangladesh, the foreign affairs adviser of the country’s Prime Minister, Tarique Rahman, said that “Dhaka cannot be intimidated with barbed wire".

In his first cabinet meeting after taking the oath, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said his government has decided to transfer land to the BSF to establish a fence along the Bangladesh border, according to a report by the Times of India. 

Humaiun Kobir, foreign affairs adviser to Bangladesh PM Tarique Rahman, said, “People of Bangladesh are not afraid of barbed wire… The government of Bangladesh is also not afraid; where we need to talk, we will talk."

Targeting CM Adhikari, he said the election rhetoric and actual governance are two different issues, adding, “Bangladesh wants to see whether the Adhikari govt is following election rhetoric in governance".

Humaiun said the Indian government should adopt a more “humane approach" in resolving border disputes, if it wants to bolster people-to-people ties.

“We do not want to become involved in their internal politics," he said, TOI reported.

For context, West Bengal shares a 2,216-km border with Bangladesh.

On Alleged ‘Push Back’, Killings

On the alleged “push-back" incidents — forcibly evicting people — Humaiun said Dhaka would not stay mum if the matter progresses.

“Bangladesh has its own plans and responses. I hope matters will not proceed in that direction," he said.

Earlier, Bangladesh Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed expressed hope that people would not be “pushed" into the country after the BJP’s rise to power in Bengal.

“I hope no such incident (push backs) will happen," Ahmed told reporters on Wednesday, adding the Border Guard Bangladesh had been asked to stay alert along the shared frontier.

India’s Response

Responding to the comments, India asserted that the remarks from Bangladesh over fears of “push-back" must be perceived in the context of undocumented Bangladeshi nationals.

Calling for cooperation from Dhaka, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a weekly press briefing: “We have seen comments of this nature being made in the last several days. These comments must be seen in the context of the core issue of the repatriation of illegal Bangladeshis from India. This obviously requires cooperation from Bangladesh".

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