The legislative assembly of West Bengal on Tuesday passed a resolution against the Indian government’s move to extend the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF) to 50km from the border with Bangladesh in the state.
The Indian government in early October had empowered the BSF to make arrests, conduct raids and seizures up to an area of 50km within Indian territory from the borders with Bangladesh and Pakistan, reports The Times of India.
Other than in West Bengal, the jurisdiction had been extended from 15km to 50km in Punjab and Assam then.
However, BSF’s jurisdiction had been cut short by 20km in the states of Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland, and Meghalaya, down from 80km. Also, the border force’s jurisdiction in Gujarat had been reduced from 80 km to 50 km. But the jurisdiction in Rajasthan will remain the same at 50 km.
The move on October 11 was meant to “improve the force's operational efficiency” and “crackdown on smuggling rackets”, officials then told The Indian Express.
After the news spread, sharp criticism poured in from opposition-ruled Punjab and West Bengal, which described it as an “irrational decision”, a “direct attack on federalism” and an attempt to “interfere through central agencies”.
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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee previously termed the move a way to "torture common people" and wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this issue.
She also accused the Indian government of trying to interfere with the federal structure of the country.
Earlier this month, the Punjab government adopted a resolution against the centre's decision, calling it an "insult" to the state police and sought its withdrawal.
