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First Post
7 hours ago
- Politics
- First Post
India 'pushed back' over 2,000 illegal immigrants into Bangladesh since Operating Sindoor: Report
Over 2,000 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants have been pushed back from the Indian borders since the start of Operation Sindoor on May 7. Many immigrants voluntarily contacted the authorities amid fears of a crackdown read more Over 2,000 alleged illegal Bangladeshi immigrants were reportedly deported from India since the start of Operation Sindoor on May 7. A government source told The Indian Express that these immigrants were 'pushed back' after the Indian authorities conducted a nationwide verification exercise. The source also mentioned that amid the tensions between India and Pakistan , a similar number of immigrants showed up near the India-Bangladesh border voluntarily to exit the country amid fears generated by India's crackdown following the Pahalgam terror attack that took place in Kashmir on April 22. The source told The Indian Express that verification processes were conducted along the Bangladesh border in Tripura, Meghalaya and Assam. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It is pertinent to note that the state of Gujarat began the round-up and has accounted for nearly half of all those who have been 'pushed back'. As per the report, Delhi and Haryana also sent back immigrants in large numbers, with the rest being rounded up from Assam, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The illegal immigrants were handed over to the BSF The government source told The Indian Express that the alleged illegal immigrants were ferried to the borders in IAF aircraft from various locations and handed over to the BSF to be held in makeshift camps along the border. In the camps, they were provided with food and some Bangladeshi currency. Some of them can be pushed back into their country after a few hours of detention. 'It is an ongoing process, and all states which have cities with significant economic activity are rounding up such illegal immigrants after verification of their documents. A focused effort began in this direction following the Pahalgam attacks in April. Since Operation Sindoor, it has picked up pace. Gujarat was the first off the blocks, followed by Delhi and Haryana. More states will begin sending soon. The instructions from the Ministry of Home Affairs are clear in this regard, and the states, too, are cooperating,' the source told the Indian news outlet. 'There is a perception that these states have been chosen because they are BJP-ruled. But that is not true. BJP is a small minority in Meghalaya. These states were chosen because of the ease of pushing back from these states. In West Bengal, because of the nature of the border, which often passes through the middle of villages or even houses, and the familial connections on either side, there was fear of law and order issues cropping up," the security official furthered, referencing to the measures that are being taken along the border in Tripura, Meghalaya and Assam. As per the report, a little less than 2,000 Bangladeshi immigrants showed up at the border voluntarily to cross over. 'Because of large-scale reporting in the media about a crackdown, many illegal immigrants from Bangladesh are voluntarily leaving the country for fear of being detained,' the official explained. The government source made it clear that the operation has been running smoothly so far, and the Indian authorities are also receiving smooth cooperation from the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB). However, the source maintained that they are expecting unease among officers in Bangladesh if the numbers swell to 10,000 or 20,000 a week, The Indian Express reported. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
India Today
11 hours ago
- Politics
- India Today
Kerala slams Centre over foreign aid approval to Maharashtra, cites bias
The CPI(M)-led Kerala government on Sunday accused the BJP-ruled Centre of political bias after it permitted Maharashtra to accept foreign contributions for disaster relief while denying similar requests from Kerala during its devastating 2018 Finance Minister K N Balagopal stated that the state welcomed the Centre's approval for Maharashtra but called out what he described as 'discriminatory treatment' between support the decision to give permission to Maharashtra, but there shouldn't be differential treatment towards states. It shows that centre sees the states differently and that is based on politics. It is not right for the administrators to show that their criteria is not the disaster but politics. This is not right for the relation between state and centre,' said Balagopal. His remarks came after the Maharashtra Chief Minister's Relief Fund was granted registration under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (FCRA), making it eligible to receive foreign aid. This contrasts sharply with the Centre's earlier refusal to allow Kerala to accept foreign assistance during the 2018 floods, despite offers from countries including the Balagopal's concerns, CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar also criticised the Centre, accusing it of showing 'step-motherly treatment' toward Union Government's recent approval allowing foreign contributions to the Maharashtra Chief Minister's Relief Fund starkly highlights the injustice done to Kerala during the devastating 2018 floods, when foreign aid was blocked and contributions to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund were disallowed,' he said.'At the time of the 2018 floods that devastated the state of Kerala, many international organisations including the Government of UAE expressed their willingness to extend a helping hand to Kerala but such requests were outrightly denied by the BJP government,' Kumar InTrending Reel IN THIS STORY#Kerala#Maharashtra
Indian Express
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Over 2,000 illegal immigrants ‘pushed back' into Bangladesh since Operation Sindoor
More than 2,000 alleged illegal Bangladeshi immigrants are estimated to have been 'pushed back' across the border by Indian authorities since Operation Sindoor began in the early hours of May 7, following a nationwide verification exercise, Government sources told The Indian Express. During the same period, they said, a similar number of immigrants showed up near the India-Bangladesh border voluntarily to cross over amid the fear generated by the crackdown. According to the sources, the Government action is taking place along the Bangladesh border in Tripura, Meghalaya and Assam. Gujarat was among the first to begin the round-up and has accounted for nearly half of all those who have been 'pushed back', they said. Delhi and Haryana, too, have sent back immigrants in large numbers with the rest being rounded up from Assam, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, the sources said. 'It is an ongoing process and all states which have cities with significant economic activity are rounding up such illegal immigrants after verification of their documents. A focused effort began in this direction following the Pahalgam attacks in April. Since Operation Sindoor, it has picked up pace. Gujarat was the first off the blocks followed by Delhi and Haryana. More states will begin sending soon. The instructions from the Ministry of Home Affairs are clear in this regard and the states, too, are cooperating,' a senior Government source said. According to the source, these alleged illegal immigrants are being ferried to the borders in IAF aircraft from various locations and handed over to the BSF to be held in makeshift camps along the border. They are provided food and some Bangladeshi currency, if needed, and 'pushed back' into their country after a few hours of detention, the source said. Referring to the action happening along the border in Tripura, Meghalaya and Assam, a security establishment officer said, 'There is a perception that these states have been chosen because they are BJP-ruled. But that is not true. BJP is a small minority in Meghalaya. These states were chosen because of the ease in pushing back from these states. In West Bengal, because of the nature of the border, which often passes through the middle of villages or even houses, and the familial connections on either side, there was fear of law and order issues cropping up.' According to another official, just under 2,000 Bangladeshi immigrants have showed up on the border voluntarily to cross over. 'Because of largescale reporting in the media about a crackdown, many illegal immigrants from Bangladesh are voluntarily leaving the country for the fear of being detained,' the official said. According to sources, the operation has been running smoothly so far with the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) 'cooperating' with their Indian counterparts. 'It is because most of those who have been rounded up are not resisting deportation. Barring those who came to India decades ago, most are willing to go back. Once rounded up and taken to the border, they call up their relatives in Bangladesh who come to pick them up. Most of them know that once they are rounded up, they will end up in detention centres or jails. A majority of them are poor labourers with no means to fight a legal battle. They prefer to go back to their families,' another security establishment officer said. Sources, however, said they expect some official unease in Bangladesh once the numbers swell to 10,000 or 20,000 a week. 'This is only a temporary solution. Such exercises, albeit on a much smaller scale, have been carried out in the past as well, even under the UPA government. But these illegal immigrants often come back once the heat lowers. That is why the Government is pushing for biometric capture of all such immigrants who are being pushed back and integration with larger immigration data,' an official said.
New Indian Express
14 hours ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Congress begins internal cleanup in Madhya Pradesh to revive party structure
BHOPAL: Reeling from consecutive defeats in the 2023 Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress is preparing for a major internal shake-up in Madhya Pradesh. As part of its upcoming organisational overhaul, the party plans to identify and expel internal saboteurs, or Bhitarghatis, accused of covertly aiding the ruling BJP. The initiative will form a core part of the Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan, to be launched by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Bhopal on June 3. "An important aspect of the Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan to be launched by Rahul Gandhi on June 3, will be to identify the Bhitarghatis (saboteurs) who have been damaging the party. Once identified till the development block level, such saboteurs will be shown the way out of the party,' said Leader of Opposition and former minister Umang Singhar. He further emphasized that the Congress high command is serious about cleaning house. 'Our leader Rahul Gandhi has already made it clear that all those who, while being in the Congress, have been working against the party need to be identified and ousted... Only those who are committed to the party will now be promoted,' Singhar added. The comments follow recent allegations from former Congress state vice president Damodar Yadav, who claimed that the BJP has cultivated sleeper cells within the Congress. According to Yadav, these elements played a significant role in the party's poor performance during the 2023 assembly elections. Rahul Gandhi will be in Bhopal on Tuesday to formally launch the Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan in Madhya Pradesh—two months after its rollout in Gujarat, another BJP-ruled state. During his visit, Gandhi is expected to hold at least five strategic meetings with various party wings. 'He will hold meetings with members of the state party's Political Affairs Committee (PAC), current MLAs and former MPs, AICC and PCC delegates/members, the 50 leaders from other states appointed as observers for each district under the campaign, and also chair a meeting of the state executive,' a senior MP Congress leader told TNIE. As part of the campaign, 50 senior Congress leaders from states including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Rajasthan have been appointed as central observers. Each will oversee organisational restructuring in one Madhya Pradesh district, working in coordination with 3–4 local observers. These teams will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the party's grassroots network, identifying both weaknesses and potential. Based on these findings, efforts will be made to rebuild the Congress organization from the primary worker level upward in each district and development block. The party has confirmed that the Abhiyan will be an ongoing effort. A pilot phase of the initiative is already underway in Vidisha district, a traditional BJP stronghold that includes assembly segments represented by Union Agriculture Minister and former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. In Vidisha, 100–150 specially trained Congress workers are living in villages, holding detailed discussions to understand local challenges and strategise revival efforts. The 15-day field exercise will culminate in a comprehensive report to be submitted to the party's state and central leadership. The Congress hopes that this grassroots-centred revamp, combined with a purge of disloyal elements, will help revive its fortunes in Madhya Pradesh ahead of future electoral battles.
Economic Times
16 hours ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Kerala slams Centre for 'discrimination' over foreign aid policy
Kerala's finance minister accuses the central government of political bias for allowing Maharashtra to receive foreign aid while denying the same to Kerala during the 2018 floods. He criticizes the discriminatory treatment, suggesting Maharashtra's closeness to the ruling party influenced the decision. The minister also alleges apathy towards Kerala regarding the Wayanad landslide tragedy and unmet expectations for financial assistance. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Kerala's CPI(M)-led Left government on Sunday accused the BJP-ruled Centre of political bias after it allowed Maharashtra to accept foreign aid while denying similar help to Kerala during its 2018 Finance Minister K N Balagopal said Kerala has no objection to Maharashtra receiving foreign assistance for relief efforts. However, he criticised the Union government for what he called "discriminatory treatment" between states."It's not disasters and sufferings of people but politics that is the criterion for the Centre to take such decisions, which is unbecoming of administrators," he said while addressing reporters state finance minister's sharp reaction comes amidst reports that the Maharashtra Chief Minister's Relief Fund has been accorded a licence under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, thus making it eligible to receive foreign funding. As per the law, all associations and NGOs receiving foreign contributions are required to be registered under the to official sources, the Maharashtra Chief Minister's Relief Fund located at Mantralaya in Mumbai has been registered with the FCRA after it fulfilled the reiterating that Kerala has no objection to Maharashtra receiving foreign aid for relief, Balagopal said there was no justification for denying the same approval to the southern also said that the Maharashtra government's perceived closeness to the ruling front at the Centre leads other states, including Kerala, to believe that this may have influenced the Union government's stance, he said, is a "violation" of the country's federal principles and the principle of equal treatment that should be guaranteed by the Centre to all warned that differentiating between states based on political considerations, even during natural calamities, would damage healthy relations between the Union government and the states."There should be equal justice in such matters. Everyone expects the rule of law and fairness in these circumstances," the minister said, urging the Centre to treat all states Kerala permission to accept foreign funds while granting the same to Maharashtra is unacceptable, he also alleged that the Centre had shown apathy towards the state during the Wayanad landslide Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the landslide-hit hamlets in Wayanad, no financial relief has been announced for the state by the Centre in this regard so far, he further charged."We expected that an announcement of financial assistance for landslide-hit Wayanad would come from the PM when he arrived here for the inauguration of Vizhinjam seaport. But nothing has happened," he the state had expected a viability gap fund without condition for Vizhinjam Port, it was also not granted by the union government yet, the finance minister to the website of the Maharashtra chief minister's relief fund, it aims at providing immediate relief to the people in distress in Maharashtra as well as in the chief minister's relief fund provides financial assistance to people affected by major natural calamities like floods, droughts, fire accidents, also provides financial assistance to economically weaker sections for treatment of major FCRA licence is a permit issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs that allows registered organisations to accept foreign funds for specific licences are crucial for the NGOs, trusts and other entities seeking to receive foreign funding for social, cultural, religious or educational activities.
