Bangladesh FM unworried by Indian citizenship law

Amid growing concern over citizenship law, Bangladesh's Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen highlighted that his government could provide protection and a fast track to naturalisation for many of the Hindus left off Assam's citizenship list.

Dhaka: Bangladesh's Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen on Monday said that his government has asked New Delhi for information on Bangladeshis living in India illegally so that they could be repatriated.

Talking to journalists about the recent Citizenship Amendment Bill passed in India, Momen said that his country could provide protection and a fast track to naturalisation for many of the Hindus left off Assam's citizenship list.

Momen's comments came amid concern that people are being pushed into Bangladesh from the Indian state of West Bengal.

Authorities in Bangladesh said that at least 329 people were arrested on charges of trespassing from India last month and failing to prove they are Bangladeshis.

Momen added that he was not worried about the impact of the bill on Bangladesh and trusts the Indian government.

The Citizenship Amendment Act gives citizenship to non-Muslims who entered India illegally to flee religious persecution in several neighboring countries.

Critics said that the act, which for the first time conditions Indian citizenship on religion, violates the secular constitution of the world's largest democracy.

The act has triggered protests across India, but Assam, the centre of a decades-old movement against illegal immigrants, has seen the highest toll.