Home ministry officials said Mr Bhattacharya called on Mr Advani to discuss the influx of illegal immigrants into West Bengal. During their 45-minute meeting, Mr Advani also briefed the chief minister about his recent discussions with Bangladesh foreign minister Moreshed Khan.
Other security-related issues faced by West Bengal, including the fencing of borders and the role of ISI-backed insurgent groups operating from Bangladeshi territory, also figured in the meeting, the officials said.
The home ministry has already taken a strong position on the illegal immigrants issue, with Mr Advani pushing for a concerted drive to detect and deport the estimated 1.5 crore Bangladeshis staying in India illegally
In a recent national conference chaired by Prime Minister Vajpayee, there was consensus among the chief ministers that the “large illegal immigration” constituted “a major internal security threat” and there was need to comprehensively reverse it.
The home ministry says the proposed
multipurpose national identity cards, along with a national register of
citizens, and acceleration of the fencing work along the Indo- Bangladesh
border are steps in this direction. Incidentally, finance minister Jaswant
Singh in his February 28 budget allocated Rs 80 crore for barbed wire fencing
on the Indo-Bangladesh border.