Bangladesh reacts to Suvendu Adhikari's border fencing decision
What's the story
Bangladesh has reacted to West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's decision to start border fencing with Bangladesh. The move is aimed at addressing illegal immigration and smuggling along the border. Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's foreign affairs adviser, M Humayun Kabir, said, "Bangladesh is not afraid of barbed wire. Where we need to talk, we will talk."
Cabinet decisions
Adhikari's cabinet decides to transfer land for fencing
Adhikari chaired his first cabinet meeting with five ministers, where they decided to transfer land to the Border Security Force (BSF) for border fencing. The Chief Secretary and the state's land and land revenue department secretary have been asked to complete this process within 45 days. Adhikari emphasized that this decision was taken in light of the changing demographics in Bengal's bordering districts.
Scheme implementation
Bengal to implement central government schemes
Apart from border issues, the cabinet also decided to implement several central government schemes in West Bengal. These include the Ayushman Bharat health coverage, PM Jan Arogya Yojna, PM Fasal Bima Yojna for crop insurance, and PM Schools for Rising India scheme. Other schemes like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao for women's empowerment and Ujwala 3.0 for subsidized cooking gas connections will also be implemented in the state.
Criticism voiced
Adhikari slams TMC over census delay, new criminal law
Adhikari also slammed the previous Trinamool Congress (TMC) government for delaying the Census exercise in Bengal. He alleged this was done to stall women's reservation initiatives. The CM claimed that TMC had not officially implemented the new criminal law, Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), which replaces IPC and CrPC. His cabinet meeting gave official sanction for this law to come into force in West Bengal.