As West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her Punjab counterpart Charanjit Singh Channi are opposing the extension of the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF) to 50 km inside the international border, the Director-General of BSF, Pankaj Kumar Singh said that a greater degree of demographic imbalance in the bordering states was one of the key reasons behind Centre’s decision.
The BSF DG said this on November 30 at a press conference ahead of the 57th Raising Day of the force.
BSF DG said that over a period of time the demographic balance in border states like West Bengal and Assam has been upset. he said a survey done by the BSF has confirmed demographic changes.
He said that it was one of the probable reasons behind the Narendra Modi government extending the jurisdiction of the BSF from 15 km to 50 km in Punjab, Assam and West Bengal.
Excerpt from interview of Sh Pankaj Kumar Singh, DG BSF on eve of 57th BSF Raising Day explaining the 11 Oct 2021 GoI notification setting the jurisdiction of BSF at a uniform limit of 50 km
— BSF (@BSF_India) November 30, 2021
सीमा सुरक्षा बल – सर्वदा सतर्क#JaiHind #BSFDay2021 @DDNational
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The DG said that India has been facing infiltration on a large scale. Be it Assam or West Bengal, the demographic balance has been upset to a great degree, he said.
“Demography has changed and states like Assam and Tripura witnessed agitations because of these reasons. In many districts of West Bengal demographic structure changed. I would not call them just refugees. This was probably the reason Centre decided to extend the jurisdiction of the BSF to support state police to catch infiltrators,” he said.
Infiltration caused demographic imbalances and changed voting patterns
Referring to a survey conducted by the BSF in some border villages, he said that the demographic changes were very definite. He further pointed out that even the voting patterns have changed in certain border districts.
BSF denies any parallel policing
The BSF DG clarified that the allegations that paramilitary forces might start parallel policing in the concerned states are wrong. He said that the power of investigating the case and filing the charge sheet would remain with the concerned state police. He explained the context under which the Centre extended jurisdiction of the BSF.
He said that the Centre issued notification essentially in the context of the Passports Act and the Passport (entry into India) Act with the earlier dealing with people going out of the country and the latter with the people entering into the country. The notification purely aims to check infiltration and demographic imbalance and to support local police.
Excerpt from interview of Sh Pankaj Kumar Singh, DG BSF on eve of 57th BSF Raising Day explaining the 11 Oct 2021 GoI notification setting the jurisdiction of BSF at a uniform limit of 50 km
— BSF (@BSF_India) November 30, 2021
सीमा सुरक्षा बल – सर्वदा सतर्क#JaiHind #BSFDay2021 @DDNational
@AkashvaniAIR
2/2 pic.twitter.com/Klwr3mlxCv
BSF DG clarifies jurisdiction of central forces and agencies
He said that not only paramilitary forces but there are also multiple other forces and agencies that have powers to take action anywhere within the country.
“If somebody is carrying arms and ammunition, the BSF can take action under the provisions of the Arms Act,” he said adding that the BSF has been doing this as per the rules for the past 25 years.
“In India not only BSF there are six-seven different forces which can take action wherever deployed. Even if these forces are deployed 500 km away from the border it can act against such elements,” he said.
The BSF DG explained that there are several other Acts that enable BSF to stop illegal activities in border states, like the Arms Act and Customs Act. The current changes are made in just 3 sections of 2 Acts and are only aimed at preventing illegal crossings of the border from inside or outside.
Centre issues notification to extent BSF jurisdiction of BSF
On October 11, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notification to bring amendments into the 2014 notification that deals with the jurisdiction of the BSF along borders where it was deployed.
Hence the 2021 notification outlined the new jurisdiction as “whole of the area comprised in the states of Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya and Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, and so much of the area comprised within a belt of 50 km in the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, West Bengal, and Assam, running along the borders of India”.
The 2014 notification covered “whole of the area comprised in the states of Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya, and so much of areas comprised within a belt of 80 km in Gujarat, 50 km in Rajasthan and 15 km in Punjab, West Bengal and Assam, running along the borders of India.
Opposition parties oppose new jurisdiction
The Congress-ruled Punjab and Bengal ruled by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) have been vehemently opposing the extension of the jurisdiction. While Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi termed it as a direct attack on federalism, West Bengal Transport Minister Firhad Hakim accused the Centre of trying to interfere in the matter of states through central agencies. Mamata Banerjee met Prime Minister Narendra mod to demand the withdrawal of the extended jurisdiction.
