Sarma told reporters in Lumding, “India is a growing economy, a nuclear nation, and the fourth-largest economy in the world. How can Bangladesh even think of doing this?”
The Chief Minister said, “We should not encourage this kind of mindset. The people of Bangladesh must understand that India will not stay silent on such behaviour.”
Earlier on December 15, Hasnat Abdullah, a senior figure of Bangladesh’s newly formed National Citizen Party (NCP), issued a provocative warning to India, claiming Dhaka could “isolate” India’s northeastern states if New Delhi attempted to destabilise Bangladesh.
In May this year Sarma had said if Bangladesh targets India’s Chicken’s Neck, India would retaliate by targeting both the Chicken’s Necks of Bangladesh.
His statement comes amid concerns following reports that China is aiding Bangladesh in reviving an WW II airbase at Lalmonirhar located close to the Indian border near Siliguri. The defunct airbase is under the control of Bangladesh Air Force, but inactive for decades.
The Siliguri Corridor that connects the northeast with mainland India is referred to as Chicken’s Neck and is roughly 20-22 km.“See, we have one Chicken’s Neck. But Bangladesh has two Chicken’s Necks. If Bangladesh attacks our Chicken’s Neck, we will attack both the Chicken’s Necks of Bangladesh … The Chicken’s Neck of Bangladesh, the one in Meghalaya connecting Chittagong port in Bangladesh is even thinner than India’s Chicken’s Neck and is located just a stone’s throw away,” Sarma had said.
Sarma said that the recent Operation Sindoor has already proved how strong India is and Bangladesh has “to be reborn 14 times” before attacking India. “Bangladesh is a small country and it cannot and should not be compared with India,” he said.
In April this year Sarma had condemned Bangladesh interim government’s chief advisor Muhammad Yunus’s statement that Dhaka was the only guardian of the seas for India’s landlocked Northeastern states and said this remark underscores the persistent vulnerability narrative associated with India’s strategic “Chicken’s Neck” corridor.
During his four-day visit to China, Yunus had said: “Seven states of the eastern part of India, called the seven sisters, are a landlocked region of India. They have no way to reach the ocean. We are the only guardian of the ocean for this region. So, this opens a huge possibility. This could be an extension of the Chinese economy. Build things, produce things, market things, bring things to China, bring it out to the whole rest of the world.”