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Karnataka will form special squad to identify and expel illegal Bangladeshi immigrants: Ramalinga Reddy

In the Karnataka Assembly, independent MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal contended that there were ‘25 lakh illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya immigrants’ in Bengaluru.

2 min readBengaluruUpdated: Jan 29, 2026 09:10 PM IST

Ramalinga Reddy appeared to dismiss claims that there were 25 lakh illegal immigrants in Bengaluru (Express File Photo).

The Karnataka Government will form a special squad to identify and expel illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy told the Legislative Assembly on Thursday.

He was responding on behalf of Home Minister G Parameshwara to a calling-attention motion raised by independent MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, who contended that there were “25 lakh illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya immigrants” in Bengaluru, resulting in a “terrifying” situation. These immigrants are working at shopping malls, and as security personnel, he claimed, accusing them of forging ration and Aadhaar cards.

Yatnal alleged that there were agents in all districts to facilitate the same. “In a manner in which there is no protection for Hindus in West Bengal, such a situation will prevail in Karnataka too if immigration goes unchecked,” contended the MLA, who was expelled from the BJP.

He blamed police and intelligence failure for illegal immigration.

Claiming that Hindu activists who identify such immigrants are harassed, Yatnal demanded that the state government carry out a survey to identify the illegal immigrants.

Reddy, however, appeared to dismiss claims that there were 25 lakh illegal immigrants in Bengaluru, as the city population was around one crore. “There are people from the seven northeastern states who are not Bangladeshis. There are eight to 10 lakh people from West Bengal (in Bengaluru), seven to eight lakh from Bihar, apart from people from states such as Rajasthan, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala,” he said.

Recalling similar allegations made during his tenure as the home minister, Reddy said a special squad was then formed to identify illegal immigrants working in estates located in Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru districts.
“Even now, if required, we will form a squad to identify and expel them,” he said, adding that it was the responsibility of the Central Government to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the state.

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