While PM Sheikh Hasina tours India, leader from Modi's BJP says 'try integrate Bangladesh to India'

Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of the north-eastern Indian state of Assam, is not new to controversy. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader has again stolen the headlines for wrong reasons by uttering remarks that could put his own party's government in New Delhi in discomfort since they came when the prime minister of neighbouring Bangladesh was in India.

Speaking on the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' (Unite India Movement) campaign which has been organised by the Indian National Congress, one of the country's major opposition parties, to mobilise support pan India, Sarma said India was already united and accused the grand-old party of partitioning India. He said if former Congress president Rahul Gandhi felt apologetic about the "mistakes" committed by his great maternal grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru had made, then he should integrate countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh to create 'Akhand Bharat' (Undivided India).

The concept of 'Akhand Bharat' has been pushed by a number of Hindu right-wing organisations In India and includes besides India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, countries and territories such as Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Tibet.

While India was partitioned into India and Pakistan in 1947, Bangladesh, which was earlier a part of Pakistan and known as 'East Pakistan', later became an independent nation in 1971.

"India is united. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Silchar to Saurashtra, we are one. Congress partitioned the country into India and Pakistan. Then Bangladesh was created. If Rahul Gandhi feels apologetic that my maternal grandfather [Jawaharlal Nehru] made mistakes, if he regrets it, then no point of 'Bharat Jodo' in Indian territory. Try to integrate Pakistan, Bangladesh and strive to create Akhand Bharat," Sarma, a former Congress leader who joined the BJP in 2015, was seen saying in a video tweeted by news agency Asian News International.

The chief minister's "integrating Bangladesh with India" remark came when Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina was on a four-day visit to India. She held talks with her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on ways to boost bilateral ties between the two South Asian nations that are known for their closeness.

Assam shares a border with Bangladesh.

New Delhi and Dhaka have inked seven memorandums of understanding to strengthen their relations during Hasina's visit.

"India is our friend. Whenever I come here, it is a pleasure for me, especially because we always recall the contribution India has made during our liberation war. We have a friendly relationship, we are cooperating with each other," Hasina said on Tuesday (6), a day after she reached New Delhi.