Bangladesh's National Citizen Party (NCP) convener Nahid Islam on Saturday, 10 October 2026, intervened in India's internal affairs by voicing support for protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), citing what he called concerns over 'electoral accountability' in India. The statement, issued from Dhaka, comes from a figure whose party has allied with the radical Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami and whose senior leader has reportedly threatened to seize India's Seven Sisters states and the Siliguri Corridor.

Islam's Statement and Its Context

In his statement, Islam claimed solidarity with protesters in India over electoral processes. He also declared that 'no society is truly democratic while minorities live in fear' — a remark that drew immediate attention given Bangladesh's own record on minority rights. The NCP emerged as a key political force following the violent unrest of August 2024 that led to the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, with NCP leaders playing a prominent role in those events.

Bangladesh's Hindu Minority Under Threat

Islam's remarks on minority rights have been met with sharp scrutiny in India, given documented attacks on Bangladesh's Hindu minority. In December 2025, Dipu Chandra Das, a 27-year-old Hindu youth employed at a garment factory in Bangladesh, was reportedly accused of blasphemy by a coworker. According to reports, a mob comprising radical and extremist elements stormed the factory, dragged him into the street, beat him to death, and subsequently tied his body to a tree and set it ablaze, in the district of Mymensingh. The incident drew widespread condemnation from Hindu community groups and human rights organisations.

NCP's Anti-India Remarks: A Pattern

Concerns over NCP's posture toward India are not new. In December 2025, Suraj Debbarma, President of the Youth Tipra Federation (YTF), led protests near the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala, accusing NCP leader Hasnat Abdullah, Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, and other leaders of making what he described as 'baseless and manufactured anti-India comments' and allegedly encouraging activities hostile to India.

Debbarma specifically cited reports that NCP leader Hasnat Abdullah had earlier claimed that the NCP would 'capture India's Seven Sisters and the Siliguri Corridor and make the region part of their country' — remarks that, if accurate, would represent a direct territorial provocation. Demonstrations were also reportedly held in front of the Indian High Commission in Dhaka, where participants allegedly raised anti-India slogans.

Why This Matters for India

The Siliguri Corridor, often called the 'Chicken's Neck', is a narrow strip of land connecting mainland India to its Northeastern states — a region of critical strategic importance. Any political rhetoric targeting it, however inflammatory in nature, attracts serious security and diplomatic attention in New Delhi. This comes amid already strained India-Bangladesh ties following the political transition in Dhaka in 2024, with the interim government's alignment with Jamaat-e-Islami regarded warily by Indian strategic analysts.

Islam's decision to publicly comment on India's electoral processes while his party's leaders stand accused of making territorial threats marks a notable escalation in rhetorical friction between the two neighbours. Observers note that the NCP's dual posture — invoking democratic values abroad while facing minority rights criticism at home — is likely to draw further scrutiny from Indian policymakers.