Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Friday, 29 May sharply questioned why the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre had failed to act against Bangladeshi illegal infiltrators in West Bengal across its three consecutive terms in power, even as the ruling party now moves aggressively on the issue. The remarks came from Murshidabad amid a fresh wave of infiltration activity at the Hakimpur border, which has seen a significant influx since Tuesday night.

The Core Challenge Chowdhury Raised

Addressing reporters, Chowdhury did not dispute the existence of illegal infiltration — he acknowledged it has been occurring for decades. His challenge was directed squarely at the BJP's credibility. “You people are the ones running the country for the third term, and even the Prime Minister of the country belongs to your party. So, who had stopped you for so many days from removing Bangladeshis?” he said, referencing laws such as the National Register of Citizens (NRC) that were legislated but, in his view, inadequately enforced.

Holding Centres and the BSF Pipeline

The immediate backdrop is the Suvendu Adhikari-led state government's establishment of 'holding centres' across West Bengal — temporary facilities for detained illegal infiltrators before they are transferred to Border Security Force (BSF) outposts at the nearest border outposts (BOPs) for repatriation. Similar detention infrastructure has been in operation in Assam for several years. Chowdhury noted that no official data has been made public on how many individuals have been detained or actually returned to Bangladesh.

What Chowdhury Demanded from the Centre

The Congress leader called on the BJP-led Centre to release a White Paper disclosing the full scale of illegal infiltration in India. He pressed for transparency on several specific counts: how many infiltrators are Hindu and how many are Muslim; how many are being informally 'pushed back' versus legally deported through official channels; and how many the Bangladeshi government has formally agreed to accept. “Not a single infiltrator should stay back in India,” he asserted, while insisting that the government must back its actions with verifiable numbers.

The Accountability Gap

This comes amid a broader national debate on border security and the enforcement of citizenship-related legislation. Critics argue that while the BJP has repeatedly made illegal immigration a central electoral theme — particularly in West Bengal and Assam — the operational outcomes in terms of verified deportations remain opaque. Chowdhury's demand for a White Paper reflects a wider opposition push for measurable accountability rather than political signalling. Notably, the lack of a publicly available deportation count has been flagged by civil society groups as well, making independent verification of the government's claims difficult.

What Happens Next

With the Hakimpur border seeing fresh infiltration pressure and holding centres now operational, the Centre faces mounting pressure to publish concrete figures. Whether the government responds to the White Paper demand — or treats it as routine opposition noise — will likely shape how this issue develops in the lead-up to the next round of state-level political contests in West Bengal.