Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday intensified his attack on Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, alleging that while BJP governments in Assam and Tripura curb infiltration from Bangladesh, she “welcomes” illegal immigrants in her state.
Addressing election rallies in Alipurduar district along the Assam border, Sarma also claimed that the TMC government has not permitted fencing along sections of the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal. “In Assam and Tripura, BJP governments do not allow infiltration from Bangladesh, but Mamata Banerjee welcomes illegal immigrants in her state,” he alleged.
He further claimed that illegal immigration was altering the state’s demographic profile, alleging a decline in the Hindu population and a rise in that of “Bangladeshi Muslims.”
Expressing confidence ahead of the elections, Sarma said the BJP would “surely win” in Assam and “score a century” in the 126-member Assembly. Polling in Assam was held on April 9, with counting scheduled for May 4.
Turning to West Bengal, where elections to the 294-member Assembly will be held in two phases on April 23 and 29, he claimed that the BJP would win 200 seats. “Assam is a small state, we will score a century there; Bengal is a large state, we have to hit a double century,” he said at another rally in Phansidewa in Darjeeling district.
Sarma also criticised a foundation-laying ceremony by AJUP leader Humayun Kabir for a mosque styled on the Babri Masjid. “Let a BJP government be formed in Bengal, we will teach him a lesson. We have no objection to the construction of a mosque, but why in the name of Babar,” he said.
At Kalchini in the Dooars region, Sarma alleged that the population of “Bangladeshi Muslims” in Assam had risen during the previous Congress regime, but the situation changed after the BJP came to power. He also accused the Banerjee government of colluding with tea garden owners to deny workers higher wages.
“When she did not announce any increase in daily wages, we unilaterally raised wages of tea garden workers in Assam from ₹240 to ₹280 along with ration,” he said, adding that the next BJP government in Assam would raise wages to ₹450–₹500.
He said tea garden workers in Assam had been granted land rights and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised ₹1.60 lakh each for housing, while alleging that Banerjee “has not done anything for their welfare.” “How can tea garden workers eat fish or meat with a daily wage of only ₹240? Mamata ji, raise their wages so that they can also eat such food,” he said.
At a rally in Cooch Behar, Sarma accused the TMC of spreading “false claims” that the BJP would ban fish and meat consumption if voted to power in West Bengal. He maintained that no such restrictions exist in BJP-ruled Assam, apart from a prohibition on beef.
“You can go to Dhubri or Goalpara and eat fish and meat as much as you want; there is no restriction,” he said, adding that Banerjee feared that “once a BJP government is formed in West Bengal, the beef trade here will stop.”
Inviting her to visit Assam, he said she could “eat as much mutton and chicken as she would like.”
The Assam Chief Minister also alleged that the TMC wanted cattle smuggling to Bangladesh to continue “so that they can fill their pockets.” Central agencies, including the CBI and Enforcement Directorate, are probing alleged cattle smuggling from West Bengal to Bangladesh.
Sarma said West Bengal required a government capable of dealing firmly with illegal immigration. “We have to make the BJP victorious in West Bengal in this election to ensure this,” he said.
He claimed that the BJP government in Assam had curbed illegal land occupation, stating that “Bangladeshi Muslims” had been evicted from 1.5 lakh acres. “If anyone dares to enter Assam illegally, that person is immediately deported. But while I send them back, Mamata Banerjee welcomes them in West Bengal like newly-wed brides,” he alleged.
Maintaining that Assam’s Hindu population had declined from 80 per cent to 60 per cent, he claimed that the upcoming census would show a similar trend in West Bengal, with the Hindu population falling from 70 per cent to around 60 per cent.
“If the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC remains in power, the situation in West Bengal will become worse than in Bangladesh,” Sarma alleged. “Cattle are smuggled from Bengal into Bangladesh, while people enter India from the neighbouring country,” he said.
He further claimed that Banerjee’s concern was not about food habits but about the possibility of restrictions on beef consumption if the BJP forms the government. “We are Sanatanis; we will neither eat beef, nor let anyone eat it,” he said.
(With inputs from PTI)