GUWAHATI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday slammed the Congress for allegedly encouraging infiltration and announced that the BJP would drive out the “infiltrators” not just from Assam but from across the country.
Addressing a crowd after inaugurating the Rs 227-crore redeveloped Batadrava Than, the birthplace of 15th-16th century Vaishnavite saint-reformer Srimanta Sankardeva in Assam’s Nagaon district, Shah declared,
“I want to say it from this sacred land that the BJP’s resolve is to drive out every single infiltrator (illegal immigrant), not just from Assam but from across the country.”
He appealed to the people of Assam to re-elect the BJP, committing that it would rid the election-bound state of the illegal immigrants within five years. He said the illegal immigrants were a big threat for national security and Assam’s culture.
He commended Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma-led Assam government for evicting the “Bangladeshi infiltrators” from Batadrava Than areas. He said an estimated 1.29 lakh bighas of land in the state had been rid of the infiltrators through eviction drives.
“The infiltrators had grabbed land at the famous Kaziranga National Park but the Assam government under the leadership of Himanta Biswa Sarma drove them out,” Shah said.
He alleged that the Congress had encouraged illegal migration to strengthen its vote-bank, but this affected Assam’s culture and literature.
“When it was a matter of saving Assam’s culture, the Congress had in 1983 come up with the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act to help the infiltrators settle here legally,” the Home Minister said.
Asserting that the last 10 years under BJP has been a golden period for Assam’s development, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Assam 36 times in the last 11 years, compared to seven times by his predecessor Manmohan Singh in 10 years, despite representing the state in the Rajya Sabha for 12 years.
“On two of those occasions, he had come to cast his vote,” Shah said.
He took note of Assam’s march to development, saying that the state was once known as the land of problems in Delhi but industrialists that he met in Gujarat on Sunday told him that it was now contributing to the country’s development by becoming the Northeast’s growth engine.
“For years, Assam saw various kinds of agitations. Youths were armed with AK 47 rifles and there was bloodshed. The central government under Modi Ji signed five peace accords. Around 92% of their clauses have been implemented. We will ensure 100% implementation if BJP is elected to power again (in Assam),” Shah said.