BJP Calls For Biometric Audits For Bengal Passengers Coming In To Bengaluru Amid Illegal Bangladeshi Immigrant Concerns

Bengaluru: Amid the nationwide SIR exercise, souring of ties with neighbouring Bangladesh, and the upcoming West Bengal polls, Karnataka Leader of Opposition (LoP) Chalavadi Narayanaswamy has called for biometric audits and stricter railway monitoring for passengers travelling in trains from West Bengal to Bengaluru to check ‘infiltrators’.

“There is growing evidence and public concern that these corridors are being exploited for the unchecked movement of illegal immigrants, specifically those originating from across the international border,” the Karnataka LoP mentioned in his letter to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

The Problem He Highlighted

The BJP leader flagged reports mentioning that individuals traveling on these routes possess Aadhaar cards and Voter IDs obtained through fraudulent means. Mentioning that these documents are not proof of citizenship, he mentioned that these documents are being allegedly used by illegal migrants to bypass local security checks.

Narayanaswamy also claimed that Bengaluru has now become a major hub for labour colonies where illegal settlers are reportedly residing under the guise of being migrants from West Bengal and North-East, mentioning that recent police crackdowns have identified numerous such individuals with forged documents.

The BJP leader also pointed out that the large volume of passengers makes it difficult for the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and GRP to conduct thorough background checks, making it easy for those illegal migrants to flood into the tech city.

What He Proposed

The BJP MLA suggested implementing a specialised verification drive at major boarding and deboarding points like Howrah, Malda Town, Kharagpur, and Bengaluru terminals, involving biometric cross-referencing, to re-evaluate the necessity of the high number of weekly services on this route, and to deploy undercover RPF and Intelligence Bureau (IB) personnel on specific trains.

The Karnataka LoP also called for linking railway reservation systems with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and other national databases to mitigate this problem.

The Politics Behind It 

The BJP recently held a protest over the Kogilu issue, claiming that the Congress-led State government was providing housing for “illegal immigrants” from Bangladesh. This comes amid the backdrop of a nationwide SIR exercise to weed out illegal immigrants from the country, and the upcoming Assembly polls in West Bengal where the saffron party, which is in opposition in West Bengal, has claimed that the ruling TMC is allegedly trying to shield illegal immigrants to swell up their vote banks, and to appease its Muslim voters.

The illegal immigration issue is a major plank of attack for the opposition BJP in Bengal, as it tries its best, to uproot the 14-year-old TMC government from power in the state. Winning Bengal is important for the BJP, as it was the residence of Bharatiya Jan Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. The Jan Sangh, the predecessor of the contemporary Bharatiya Janata Party, was also the political arm of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological fountainhead of the BJP.

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