Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of Assam, issued a warning on Tuesday that if lawmakers in Bangladesh kept making comments about India's northeast, India would not keep quiet and teach a "lesson."
His remarks were made the day after Hasnat Abdullah, a prominent figure in the recently established National Citizen Party, stated that if New Delhi tried to "destabilize" the neighboring country, Dhaka should "isolate" India's northeastern states and assist separatist groups there.
"That nation (Bangladesh) has been making repeated claims for the past year that the northeastern Indian states ought to be split off and incorporated into Bangladesh.
We are the fourth-largest economy in the world, a very vast country, and a nuclear power. How is Bangladesh even capable of considering it? PTI reports that the Assam chief minister informed reporters.
"This kind of thinking should not be promoted, and Bangladesh should not receive much assistance. If they keep acting in this manner, we ought to teach them a lesson. We won't keep quiet," the BJP leader continued.
Abdullah, a prominent figure in the student-led demonstrations that overthrew Sheikh Hasina's government in Bangladesh in August of last year, asserted on Monday that India's northeastern states were geographically "vulnerable" because they rely on the slender Siliguri Corridor, also referred to as the "Chicken's Neck," for communication with the rest of the nation.
After leaving Dhaka, Hasina moved to Delhi, and since her removal, relations between the two neighbors have reached an all-time low.
She was convicted guilty of "crimes against humanity" during the protests last month and given the death penalty by an International Crimes Tribunal.
Hasina disagreed with the decision, calling it "politically motivated." New Delhi has stated that Dhaka's repeated requests for the extradition of the former prime minister are "being examined."
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, whose caretaker government has been in charge of Bangladesh since Hasina's government fell, has also made numerous remarks about northeastern India, which is referred to as the "Seven Sisters" due to the seven states that make up this region.
