‘Jaldi, jaldi bhaago…’: West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari to illegal Bangladeshi immigrants

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday, May 26, urged authorities to expedite deportation of alleged illegal Bangladeshi nationals gathered at the Hakimpur border checkpoint in North 24 Parganas district’s Basirhat subdivision.

Adhikari chaired an administrative meeting in Kalyani, which was attended by senior officials from Nadia, Hooghly, and North 24 Parganas districts.

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While speaking to mediapersons after the meet, the West Bengal Chief Minister claimed that people assembled at the border point were willing to go back to Bangladesh.

“Jaldi jaldi bhago nahi toh jo karna hai sarkar karega (Leave quickly, otherwise the government will take necessary action),” PTI quoted Adhikari as saying.

কল্যাণীতে সাংবাদিকদের মুখোমুখি মুখ্যমন্ত্রী শ্রী @SuvenduWB মহাশয়। pic.twitter.com/PgWavTEllh

— BJP West Bengal (@BJP4Bengal) May 26, 2026

Directing the officials to expedite deportation procedures, Adhikari stated that the BJP government in the state does not intend to keep such individuals in detention or spend public funds on their upkeep.

He even noted that the major issue was negatively impacting local resources as well as citizens of the state.

According to IANS, over 100 Bangladeshi nationals, who were allegedly staying illegally across different cities in West Bengal, had gathered at the Hakimpur check post on Tuesday morning to return to Bangladesh.

This came after directives regarding identified illegal immigrants.

North 24 Parganas, West Bengal: More than 100 Bangladeshi nationals allegedly living illegally in different parts of West Bengal gathered at the Hakimpur check post in North 24 Parganas on Tuesday morning to return to Bangladesh. The gathering comes after directives regarding… pic.twitter.com/TC06rVaeMm

— IANS (@ians_india) May 26, 2026

Legal provisions exist regarding the same, the chief minister said and added that these were not effectively implemented in the past. He further alleged that political considerations had previously influenced enforcement.

The BJP government in the state will prioritise strict implementation of immigration laws, he added.

Notably, the West Bengal administration has come up with holding centres across all the districts in the state to accommodate “apprehended foreigners” as well as “released foreign prisoners” until deportation formalities are completed.

According to officials, the latest directive aligns with the existing central guidelines.