It will be introduced in the house on 16 November
The West Bengal government will move a resolution in the state assembly against the Centre’s move to increase the territorial jurisdiction of the Border Security Force. State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee said that a resolution will be brought under Rule 185 of the Procedure for Conduct of Business in the State Legislative Assembly.
“The resolution will be against the increase in the territorial jurisdiction of the BSF from 15 to 50 km,” Mr Chatterjee said. The motion is likely to be introduced in the House on November 16.
We are of the view that law and order is a state subject and the responsibility of the BSF is to protect the border and such developments will lead to conflict between the Center and the state, the minister said. Considering the strength of the Trinamool Congress in the state assembly, the resolution can easily be passed. Trinamool has the support of 217 MLAs in the 294-member house.
BJP MLAs are likely to be present in the state assembly and oppose the proposal. BJP national vice president Dilip Ghosh said, “Trinamool opposes anything in the interest of national security.”
The Congress government in Punjab on Thursday passed a resolution in the state assembly against the Centre’s notification to increase the jurisdiction of the BSF. Three persons were killed in a BSF operation to check cattle smuggling in West Bengal’s Cooch Behar district on Friday. These deaths had triggered a war of words between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP.
West Bengal shares a border of 2,216 km with Bangladesh and is governed by three borders of the BSF. The South Bengal border, which extends from the Sundarbans in the south to Malda in the north, is the most porous border with 40% of the international boundary being along the river.
In the past, the Trinamool Congress government has passed resolutions against the Citizenship Amendment Act and three controversial agriculture laws passed by the Centre.
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