Kolkata, May 5 (UNI) The Bengal BJP will hold demonstrations in front of all district headquarters on Monday, demanding that all Pakistani citizens staying illegally in the country be identified and deported.

The demand for identifying the Pakistani nationals staying in the state comes after police of Chandannagar commissionerate in Hooghly district arrested a Pakistani national on Saturday for allegedly overstaying in India since 1980 on a tourist visa.

This is the first arrest of a Pakistani national in Bengal since the central government issued a notification on April 25, directing all states to take measures to deport Pakistani citizens following the April 22 terrorist attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Kashmir.

"We want all Pakistan citizens staying illegally in the country, including in Bengal, be identified, apprehended and sent back to their native country," the BJP's Bengal state president, Sukanata Majumdar said at a press conference in Dakshin Dinajpur district's Balurghat town on Sunday.

"We (BJP) will hold demonstrations with the demand in front of all district headquarters on Monday before giving the deputation," Majumdar said.

The union minister of state for Department of North East Region (DoNER) also referred to the recent arrest of the Pakistani woman from Chandannagar and said that it shows "lack of surveillance on such illegalities in the state.”

All prominent Bengal BJP leaders, including Sukanta Majumdar, MLA Agnimitra Paul, former MP Locket Chattopadhyay, Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya, former state president Rahul Sinha, and other frontline leaders, will hold demonstrations in front of various district headquarters starting Monday morning.

Accusing the state government of failing to provide data on Pakistani nationals residing in West Bengal, the BJP MP from Balurghat said, "At times, the state government acts as if it isn’t part of the federal structure, so it needs to be reminded of its responsibilities."

“The Trinamool Congress in the state is doing an appeasement of politics. They are allowing people from Pakistan and Bangladesh to stay in the country because that will secure their vote bank. This cannot continue. We will put pressure on the government. Today is the first day, and if the government is not serious then we will go for a larger movement,” a senior BJP leader who is also a part of the demonstration program said.

Mentioning that West Bengal has been continuously harbouring terrorists from the other side of the fence, Majumdar said, “Around 450 km-long international border between India and Bangladesh was not fenced in West Bengal because land could not be acquired by the Centre for the purpose owing to lack of cooperation by the Mamata Banerjee government.”

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