In the wake of widespread unrest in Bangladesh, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday said that West Bengal will keep its doors open and offer shelter to persons in distress from the neighbouring country, PTI reported.

“I should not be speaking on the affairs of Bangladesh since that is a sovereign nation and whatever needs to be said on the issue is a subject matter of the Centre,” Banerjee said at Trinamool Congress’ Martyr’s Day rally in Kolkata. “But I can tell you this, if helpless people come knocking on the doors of Bengal, we will surely provide them shelter.”

Banerjee cited a United Nations resolution on refugees to justify her stand amid a possible humanitarian crisis in Bangladesh. “That’s because there is a United Nations resolution to accommodate refugees in regions adjacent to those under turmoil,” PTI quoted Banerjee as saying.

In 2018, the Bangladesh government had scrapped the quota system for government jobs. However, a lower court reinstated it in June. The ruling had significantly increased reserved government jobs, triggering deadly student-led protests across the country.

Last week, the stir snowballed into one of the largest agitations against the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led government, which has been in power uninterrupted since 2009.

At least 150 persons have been killed in Bangladesh in the past week amid a crackdown by authorities, according to AFP. The toll is hard to assess because of a communications blackout in the country.

On Friday, Bangladesh imposed a nationwide curfew after the protests in the capital Dhaka grew violent. The Army was also deployed in Dhaka to restore order. A day later, the police also imposed a “shoot-on-sight” order across the country, the Associated Press reported.

Internet services and mobile data have remained down in Dhaka.

On Sunday, Bangladesh’s Supreme Court scaled back, but did not abolish, most of the quotas in government jobs, according to reports. The country’s top court directed 93% of government jobs to be open to candidates without quotas, setting aside the lower court’s ruling.

The West Bengal chief minister on Sunday also appealed to the residents of her state not to get provoked over matters relating to the unrest in Bangladesh. “We should exercise restraint and not walk into any provocation or excitement on the issue,” Banerjee said.

In response to Banerjee’s comments, Union minister Sukanta Majumdar, who is also the Bharatiya Janata Party’s state chief, said that the Centre should be consulted in matters involving foreign policy before making public statements.

“It’s true that we are all concerned about the current situation in Bangladesh over which Delhi is keeping a close watch,” PTI quoted Majumdar as saying. “Our chief minister should not be voicing her opinions on matters involving our country’s foreign policies without first consulting the Centre.”