|
Mumbai: A Hindu nationalist party with base in western Maharashtra state wants to stop train services between India and eastern neighbour Bangladesh that resumed after a gap of more than 40 years saying terrorists will use it to sneak into the country.
The Shiv Sena's official Marathi language newspaper Saamna on Friday accused Bangladesh of continuing to be under the influence of Pakistan's military intelligence agency, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).
It alleged Dhaka will encourage infiltrators to come into India.
So far, the infiltrators from Bangladesh have been entering the country surreptitiously but they will not have to do so anymore as they can enter openly, the paper claimed.
"This state, which came into existence with the help of India, is now more close to Pakistan than India and will therefore allow the rail service to be misused by the terrorists and anti-national elements to foment trouble in India," the paper said.
The passenger train service between Kolkata and Dhaka - named Moitree (friendship) Express - was flagged off on Monday at Dhaka after a gap of 43 years to improve people-to-people contact between the two countries.
Before the 1947 partition of British India into India and Pakistan (the division of which in 1971 led to the creation of Bangladesh) there were regular train services between Kolkata and different cities of the then East Bengal.
After the partition, three train services - East Bengal Mail, East Bengal Express and Barishal Express - operated till 1965. They were discontinued after the India-Pakistan war broke out.
After Pakistan's eastern wing gained independence and became Bangladesh, there were no passenger train services. However, with the Indian Railways now initiating passenger train services between the two countries, the Shiv Sena has described it as an "ill-conceived move" and an "attempt to appease the minorities". Already, several parts of India, including Maharashtra, are facing the problem of an influx of Bangladeshi migrants, said Saamna.
According to the newspaper, Bangladeshi migrants have settled down in most parts of Assam where they decide the poll outcome in seven districts. The paper also alleged the migrants are found in large numbers in Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur and Nagaland.
|
