India on Thursday asked Bangladesh to expedite nationality verification so that repatriation of “illegal immigrants” can take place smoothly.

Dhaka had earlier said it would take appropriate action if New Delhi “pushed in” people alleged to be Bangladeshi infiltrators through the borders along Assam and Bengal.

Reacting to a statement by Bangladesh’s foreign minister Khalilur Rahman that Dhaka would take action if there is a “push-in” during the change of power in Bengal, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in response to queries at the weekly briefing: “These comments must be seen in the context of the core issue of repatriation of illegal Bangladeshis from India.”

Stating that this repatriation requires cooperation from Bangladesh, Jaiswal added: “Over 2,862 cases of nationality verification are pending with Bangladesh, some for over five years. Our policy is that all illegal foreign nationals staying in India must be repatriated as per our laws, procedures and established bilateral arrangements. We expect Bangladesh to expedite nationality verification so that repatriation of illegal immigrants can take place in a smooth manner.”

On Wednesday, the state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha quoted Rahman as describing India’s reported move of pushing people into Bangladesh as “inappropriate” as this was not being done through proper channels, iterating Dhaka’s stated position that “we are examining each of the cases..., we will receive only if there is proof that they are Bangladeshi citizens”.

According to the Dhaka Tribune, Border Guard Bangladesh on Wednesday detained “66 Indian nationals who illegally entered Khagrachhari through various border points in Matiranga and Panchhari”. The report claimed that 27 of them were Bengali-speaking residents of Gujarat and were found staying in a local house. They claimed they had been flown from Gujarat and helped across the border by paramilitary force personnel.

Last week, Bangladesh had summoned the acting Indian high commissioner in Dhaka, Pawan Badhe, over the “disparaging” remarks of then Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma about bilateral relations.

Two sets of remarks by Sarma over the past weekend — a comment made during an interview to ABP News and a post on X — were found “disparaging” by Dhaka. “I pray to God every morning that the situation that existed during Yunus’s time should remain the same; that relations should not improve further,” The Daily Star quoted him as saying in the interview aired on April 15.

In a bilingual post on X on April 25, Sarma said first in Hindi: “Laaton ke bhoot baton se nahi maante (Rude people don’t understand politeness). We continuously remind ourselves of this prophetic line when we expel infiltrators from Assam who don’t leave themselves. For instance, these 20 illegal Bangladeshis, who were PUSHED BACK last night. Assam will fight. Pushbacks WILL CONTINUE.”