Overview
- Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry summoned acting Indian High Commissioner Pawan Badhe on Thursday, with Director General Ishrat Jahan conveying Dhaka’s displeasure and calling the Assam chief minister’s remarks disparaging to bilateral ties.
- Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in an ABP News interview that he prefers poor India–Bangladesh relations and posted on X that 20 people were apprehended in Assam and pushed back to Bangladesh.
- Indian government officials in Delhi said Sarma’s statements do not reflect the central government’s position, signaling an effort to contain the fallout.
- The dispute lands as ties tentatively warm after the BNP’s February win in Dhaka, recent meetings in New Delhi, and India’s decision to appoint Dinesh Trivedi as high commissioner to strengthen engagement.
- Informal border ‘pushbacks’ have long fueled friction, with Bangladeshi authorities reporting forced crossings and some people later confirmed as Indian citizens, a practice that can split families and strain coordination between the BSF and BGB.