Hotel owners in Siliguri, West Bengal have resolved to continue their boycott of Bangladeshi nationals in the New Year period on the grounds of the recent anti-India rhetoric and anti-Indian campaigns arising in the other side of the border. Members of the Greater Siliguri Hotel Welfare Association have made a joint decision and it is being enforced rigidly within the hotels in the city.
Advertisements about the ban have been posted at strategic points in some hotels with a clear declaration that no accommodation will be given to Bangladeshi nationals. The restriction, according to Ujjwal Ghosh, Joint Secretary of the association, is on all citizens of Bangladesh. No Bangladeshi nationals are this time being given a chance to stay in any of the hotels. They are not even accommodating those who come on student visas or even to treat their medical conditions, he said.
Ghosh also pointed out that the decision was made on nationalistic grounds and not on commercial grounds. The anti-India rants of Bangladesh have to cease. In our case, we continue to identify with the nation before venturing into business. We cannot place more emphasis on business at the expense of the dignity of the country, he added.
Sandip Kumar, the Secretary of the association, also shared the same sentiments by saying that the boycott is widely supported in the local hospitality industry. Individuals who comment negatively on our country can not find a reception in our country. Members of our organisation are not the only ones who are aiding this move, even the non-member hotels are assisting in the decision, he stated.
Hotel manager Tanmay Mani of Siliguri observed that the position has been tightened than it was last year. The rules for students and medical patients had been slackened in the past New Year season. This year, it has been boycotted by all Bangladeshi nationals, however, he explained.
It is developed in the context of increased political debate on border security. Raising a question to Chief Minister Banerjee earlier in the day, Union Home Minister Amit Shah was speaking at a press conference in West Bengal.
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