Dhaka, July 23 - Bangladesh and India were engaged in a public debate over the issues of illegal migration and problems faced by visa seekers here, with Dhaka disapproving of remarks made by the Indian High Commissioner who in turn said that he was quoted out of context.

The Indian envoy had said that over 25,000 Bangladeshis travelling on visa did not return home. He had also alleged that 80 percent of visa seekers were 'touts and brokers'.

An official spokesman Wednesday said the information with the Bangladesh government did not match with what Indian envoy Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty had said at a meeting of businessmen from Bangladesh and India.

In a clarification, the high commission said Chakravarty had spoken in response to a remark by a leader of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) who said that queues of visa seekers outside the Indian High Commission 'would find a place in the Guinness Book of World Records'.

Rejection insinuations about complicity of its staff and corruption, the high commission said unscrupulous people in the serpentine queues and those not returning home caused difficulties for genuine visa seekers.

'Ministry would like to inform all concerned that the information available with the government does not correspond with the observation of the high commissioner,' the Bangladesh government spokesman said.

'Moreover, Bangladesh has not received any official communication from the government of India in this regard,' United News of Bangladesh (UNB) quoted him as saying.