West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday offered shelter to people affected by violence in Bangladesh. In the wake of the escalating violence in Bangladesh, Bengal would keep the doors of her state open for people in distress from the neighbouring country, she said.
While offering shelter at the 'Martyrs Day' rally of the TMC in Kolkata, she referred to the United Nations Resolution on refugees as justification for her stand over the possible humanitarian crisis that may emerge in Bangladesh which has been facing violence over the past few days.
“I should not be speaking on the affairs of Bangladesh since that is a sovereign nation and whatever needs to be said on the issue is a subject matter of the Centre. But I can tell you this, if helpless people come knocking on the doors of Bengal, we will surely provide them shelter,” the CM said.
“That’s because there is a United Nations Resolution to accommodate refugees in regions adjacent to those under turmoil,” the Bengal CM added while drawing an example from Assamese people who were allowed to live in Alipurduars area of north Bengal for a considerable period during the Bodo strife in the northeastern state.
Assuring all cooperation to Bengal residents whose relatives may have remained stuck on account of the escalating violence on the eastern side of the international border, she also extended assistance to Bangladeshis who came to Bengal but were facing difficulty in returning home.
The CM also appealed to the people of West Bengal to not get provoked over matters concerning the current situation in Bangladesh.
“We should exercise restraint and not walk into any provocation or excitement on the issue,” she stated.
Violence escalated in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka and elsewhere over student protests demanding reforms of the quota system for government jobs. The protesters are demanding an end to a quota system that reserves up to 30 per cent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's war of independence in 1971 against Pakistan.
Supreme Court partially scraps quota
Meanwhile, Bangladesh's Supreme Court on Sunday scrapped most of the quotas on government jobs that have sparked student-led protests. The court's Appellate Division dismissed a lower court order that had reinstated the quotas, directing that 93% of government jobs will be open to candidates on merit, without quotas.
(With PTI inputs)
Also read: Bangladesh top court scraps most job quotas after 133 killed in violent protests
