India to ease visa rules for Bangladeshis: Govt

New Delhi, May 5 (PTI) Building on improved relations with
Bangladesh, India Wednesday said it proposes to ease visa
rules for visitors from the neighbouring country.
"There is a proposal to relax the procedure relating to
grant of conference visa to Bangladeshi citizens. The matter
is under consideration," India's Home Minister P Chidambaram
said in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Indian Parliament).
Answering questions, he said the categories of visitors
for whom visas may be relaxed include professionals regularly
visiting India and requiring longer stay than one year in rare
and exceptional cases.
Visa on medical grounds including for those accompanying
attendants and relatives, may also be eased, Chidambaram said.
As for Indians visiting Bangladesh, he said the visa
regime is reciprocal.
To a question from Sushila Tiriya (Congress) whether India
was working on a plan to declare a unilateral no-fire zone
along the Bangladesh border, the home minister said, "No".
While relations with Bangladesh have improved over the
last few years, "I agree there are several undemarcated areas
on both the sides." He said discussions are on. "There is
progress and we would be able to resolve the matter," he said.
Some Indian areas are in their jurisdiction and some
Bangladesh land is with India, he said.
The minister agreed that the issue of illegal immigrants
from Bangladesh "is a grave problem. But we are addressing
it." He said policies of several successive governments had
been the same over the years on the matter.
He said as per provisions under the Foreigners Act and
Tribunal order, over one lakh illegal immigrants from
Bangladesh have been deported and pushed back between 2000 and
2008.
Regarding those who had illegally migrated before 1971 to
India, the home minister said the provisions to deal with the
issue are addressed in the provisions of Assam Accord. PTI