Bengal CM Suvendu meets Modi, Murmu & BJP leaders in Delhi; vows crackdown on illegal immigration

New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has said that undocumented individuals residing illegally in the state will henceforth be identified and handed over to the Border Security Force. In his first visit to Delhi, Suvendu paid courtesy calls to President Droupadi Murmu, prime minister Narendra Modi as well as BJP president Nitin Nabin, in addition to general secretary BL Santosh and union defence minister Rajnath Singh.

Suvendu said that the BJP government in the state has now begun the process of “rectifying” the activities that were conducted “illegally, unconstitutionally, and in a manner that undermined the federal structure”. “On May 14, 2025, the Central Government enforced a policy of ‘Detect, Delete, Deport’; while all state governments accepted it, a border state government like Bengal did not. Ask yourself, should illegal immigrants be caught and sent to jail or sent to the border by BSF. If we take them to jail, it means they must be provided with food, clothes, medicines, soap, oil and even toothpaste and toothbrushes. Why should the exchequer foot this bill,” the Bengal CM said at an exclusive briefing at Banga Bhawan in Delhi.

He added that Bengal has now started a rule that whenever the police catch any undocumented individual, they will be handed over directly to the BSF. “This work has been done in all the states from Delhi to Haryana to Gujarat to Maharashtra for the last 10 years. And here we are, treating them like sons-in-law. Why should they sit in our jails, eating our food and wearing our clothes? Why should we allow that,” he asked.

During his Delhi visit, Suvendu held deliberations with the party leadership about portfolio distribution, even though he remained tight-lipped about the details. It is expected that the expansion of his Cabinet will take place by June.

Speaking about the government’s efforts to curb infiltration, Suvendu said that land has been handed over to the BSF to upgrade security. “It is a matter of national security. Work has already commenced following the handover of 27 kilometers of land. I will hand over the remaining land as well; specifically, whatever land the BSF requires for its Border Outposts (BOPs). This includes the land within the Chicken’s Neck Corridor that was designated for transfer from our State Highways to the National Highways – a matter that had been pending for a long time,” he added.

The Bengal CM said that now with the TMC government gone, the new government will implement Central schemes and initiatives that were halted. “The CrPC and IPC have been replaced by the BNS across the entire country; but not in Bengal. Census operations are currently underway nationwide; yet, since May 2025, census work has been halted in Bengal. The Census is not a partisan activity,” he said.

As his government starts the Centre’s schemes, the money allocated for it will also flow to the state now. He informed that the ministry for Jal Shakti (Water Resources) has agreed to allocate Rs 39,000 crore for the ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’ over the coming year, and for the ‘Namami Gange’ project for cleaning the Ganges, agreements have been made. He added that on Saturday, Union Health Minister J P Nadda will hold a virtual meeting to grant sanctions for the Ayushman Mandir, while on Friday, a high-level team led by the PWD Secretary arrived in Delhi to hold a meeting with the National Highway Authority. Additionally, meetings have also taken place with officials from the Ministry of Urban Development and the Department of Agriculture.

“This government is extremely active and proactive; we do not waste time sitting idly by and merely enjoying the perks of office. Enrolling beneficiaries under Ayushman Bharat is no small task. Then there are the applications for the Vishwakarma Scheme, 800,000 of which had been pending for two years, with 61,000 now having been forwarded to the MSME Department. Similarly, 315,000 applications are pending under the Ujjwala scheme. This is an extensive list. All of these items are on our priority agenda,” he said.