Activist and former Planning Commission member Syeda Hameed has said that Bangladeshis who entered Assam illegally should be "sat and negotiated with" and then "escorted back". Earlier, she said, "even Bangladeshis can live here", which drew sharp criticism. Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma had called her a "close confidant of the Gandhi family" and accused her of legitimising illegal infiltrators.