The ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise provides an opportunity for the district administration to trace illegal Bangladeshi immigrants holed up in Dakshina Kannada and deport them to Bangladesh, BJP district president Satish Kumpala said on Saturday.

Talking to reporters here, Mr. Kumpala said the detention of nine Bangladeshis working as construction labourers, following a police check at a construction site in Mangaluru on Friday, serves as a warning to the district administration.

There are many Bangladeshis who have illegally entered the country and are holed up across the district at construction sites and other workplaces. Through the SIR, the district administration should identify illegal immigrants and initiate the deportation process, he said.

Mr. Kumpala said these illegal immigrants could misuse the permanent residency certificate (PRC) being issued by the State government. “The State has laid down norms, including that the applicant or his/her parent should have resided in Karnataka continuously for a minimum of 10 years. There are more chances of misuse of PRC by illegal immigrants,” he said.

The Congress government’s decision to issue a notification on the PRC at a time when the SIR process was under way raises suspicion that it was done to protect illegal immigrants, he said. The BJP will launch a legal and public fight against the issuance of PRC, he added.

Mangaluru City South MLA D. Vedavyas Kamath said many Bangladeshis were staying in Dakshina Kannada and other parts of the State after illegally entering the country from West Bengal and other parts of India.

In a statement, Mangaluru City North MLA Y. Bharath Shetty said the State government should join hands with the Centre to deport illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. The presence of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in the district, using fake Aadhaar cards, was a national security risk. The State government should take the issue seriously, Dr. Shetty said.

Udupi District BJP president Kutyaru Naveen Shetty said the State government’s notification to issue PRC was unconstitutional and that the Union Home Ministry should intervene immediately. Talking to reporters in Udupi on Saturday, Mr. Shetty said the issuance of PRC would pose a threat to national security. The State government was trying to create a separate category of people, he said.

Published - July 11, 2026 07:07 pm IST