Bangladesh unrest: Bengal will give shelter to ‘helpless people,’ declares Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, whose state shares border with Bangladesh, on Sunday offered shelter to ‘helpless people’ from the neighbouring country, which has been witnessing violent student-led protests against reservations in its civil services.

“I should not speak on the affairs of Bangladesh as it is a sovereign nation, and whatever needs to be said on the issue is subject matter of the Centre. But I can tell you this, if helpless people come knocking on our doors, we will surely provide them shelter,” Banerjee declared at the annual Martyrs’ Day rally of her Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Kolkata.

“That’s because of a United Nations resolution to accommodate refugees in regions adjacent to those under turmoil,” the TMC supremo stated.

Banerjee also assured her full cooperation to her state’s residents whose relatives are stuck in Bangladesh due to the escalating violence on the eastern side of the international border.

Assistance will also be extended to Bangladeshis who came to West Bengal and are facing difficulty in returning home, she added.

The chief minister further urged people of her state to not get ‘provoked’ over matters regarding the current situation in Bangladesh, which remains cut off from the rest of the world after internet and cellular services there were shut down earlier this week.

“We must exercise restraint and not walk into any provocation or excitement on the issue,” she remarked, and expressed solidarity with students and other demonstrators who are protesting for the abolition of the quota system.

“We are extremely sad to see blood getting split and my heart goes out to the students who were killed,” the West Bengal CM said.