Bengal too is protesting against Centre’s move to increase BSF jurisdiction in border states: Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that like Punjab, they are also protesting against the Centre’s decision to increase search and arrest jurisdiction of BSF in border states.

She said law and order is a state subject and West Bengal’s borders with Bangladesh were completely peaceful. The Chief Minister also said her government will go by the “state laws”.

“Just like Punjab, we’re also protesting against BSF’s jurisdiction that has been recently increased. Our border areas are completely peaceful. Law and order is a police subject. It’ll create disturbance. State govt will go with state laws,” she said.

Mamata Banerjee made the remarks after holding meetings with the Jalpaiguri and Alirajpur district administration officers in Siliguri.

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi held an all-party meeting on Monday to discuss the Centre’s move to increase jurisdiction of BSF.

The Centre had earlier this month empowered the Border Security Force (BSF) to conduct searches, arrest suspects and make seizures up to an area of 50 km inside Indian territory from the International Border (IB) along India-Pakistan and India-Bangladesh borders.

The BSF, which was only empowered to take action up to fifteen kilometers in the states of Punjab, West Bengal, and Assam, has now been authorised to extend its jurisdiction up to 50 km without any hurdle or permission either from central or state governments.

However, its jurisdiction has been cut short by 20 km in the five northeastern states– Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland, and Meghalaya– where it had jurisdiction up to 80 km. Similarly in Gujarat, the BSF’s jurisdiction has been curtailed from 80 to 50 km. In Rajasthan, the BSF’s area of jurisdiction will remain the same at 50 km.