India on Thursday said it has asked Bangladeshi authorities to verify the nationality of more than 2,300 illegal migrants who are believed to be from the neighbouring nation.

New Delhi urged Dhaka to verify the nationality of the illegal migrants so that they can be deported.

"We have asked the Bangladeshi side to verify their nationality. We have a pending list of 2,369 people who are required to be deported," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing.

He was responding to a question on authorities in various states identifying illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

"Foreigners staying in India illegally, whether they happen to be Bangladeshi nationals or any other national, they will be dealt with as per law. We have a large number of Bangladeshi nationals here who are required to be deported," Jaiswal said.

"Many of them have actually completed their jail sentences, and in many cases, the nationality verification is pending since 2020.

"So almost five years have gone by. We would urge the Bangladeshi side [to] expedite the verification process so that people who are required to be deported can be sent back to Bangladesh," Jaiswal added.

India's pushback against the illegal Bangladeshis came against the backdrop of severe strain in bilateral ties between the two countries.

There has been a sharp downturn in India-Bangladesh relations after deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled Dhaka and took shelter in India in August last year in the face of a massive anti-government protest.

The relations nosedived dramatically after the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus failed to contain attacks on minorities, especially Hindus, in that country.

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