BHUBANESWAR: Amid speculations of more BJD MPs in Rajya Sabha switching over to the BJP, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday claimed the regional outfit was on its last legs.
On a two-day visit to the state, Sarma said the BJD is finished in the state.
“The BJD has already become history in Odisha. Today the BJP government completed six months in the state and is doing very well. The BJP will be in power in Odisha for the next 50 years,” he asserted.
Sarma’s statement assumes significance as he was one of the key BJP functionaries to have camped in the state during the 2024 elections and played a key role in the stunning victory of the saffron party both in Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
Talking to mediapersons after offering prayers at Puri Srimandir, Sarma also strongly batted for nationwide implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to combat the massive infiltration of Bangladeshis into India.
His statement came a day after his cabinet decided that issue of Aadhaar card in Assam will be based on verification of NRC. The Assam CM said the country badly needs an NRC type document to check illegal intrusion from Bangladesh which has increased significantly due to current political upheaval in that country.
When pointed out that Odisha is also facing a similar problem with influx of Bangladeshis, Sarma said scores of infiltrators have been nabbed by Assam and Tripura police and the BSF in the last two months but non-cooperation of the West Bengal government was creating problems. Since the West Bengal border with Bangladesh is very porous, the state is serving an easy entry point from where the immigrants are spreading to other states, he said.
On ‘One Nation, One Election’, Sarma said, “Odisha is the best example for other states. The state has been going for simultaneous polls for a long time without any problem. I strongly support this initiative by PM Narendra Modi as development works get hampered due to election every year in some state or the other.” He exuded confidence that Modi would push through the One Nation, One Election Bill in the Parliament.