Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday alleged that Assam’s demography underwent a drastic change during the Congress rule and said the BJP-led government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi was working to reverse the trend, PTI reported.
Addressing the closing ceremony of the 10th Mising Youth Festival organised by the Takam Mising Porin Kebang (All Mising Students’ Union) at Kareng Chapori as the chief guest, Shah appealed to voters to support the BJP in the upcoming Assembly elections to free the state from infiltration.
“Assam’s demography totally changed during the Congress rule. The population of infiltrators rose to 64 lakh from nil, and infiltrators became a majority in seven districts,” Shah alleged, according to PTI.
He asserted that the Modi government was taking multiple steps to reverse the demographic changes and curb illegal immigration. “If you want to stop infiltration in Assam, elect the BJP government for a third term and strengthen the hands of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma,” Shah said, claiming that two BJP governments in the state had freed 1.26 lakh acres of land from encroachment by infiltrators.
Shah also highlighted the role of the Mising community in preventing infiltrators from settling in Upper Assam, crediting their lifestyle and work ethic. “You do not need to take up guns. Through your culture of hard work, infiltrators have not been able to come to this side,” he said, PTI reported.
Referring to the Bogibeel bridge over the Brahmaputra connecting Dibrugarh and Dhemaji, Shah said the structure symbolised India’s progress and credited the Mising community for its construction. “Very few people know that the Bogibeel Bridge was built through the hard work and sweat of my brothers and sisters from the Mising community,” he said, calling it a representation of the vision of a New India.
He also took a swipe at the Congress, noting that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a Rajya Sabha MP from Assam, had served for 10 years but the bridge remained incomplete during that period. “It was completed in just four years under the leadership of Modi ji,” Shah added.
The Union home minister alleged that several tribal communities struggled to protect their identity during the Congress regime and said the BJP government was committed to addressing issues faced by the Mising society through a Centre-appointed interlocutor.
Shah lauded the community’s traditional ‘chang ghar’ or stilt houses, saying their design allows floodwaters to pass through and reflects a silent fight against global warming. He also announced that a special recruitment drive would be conducted for Mising youth in the central paramilitary forces.
“If I had not attended the Mising Youth Festival, my life would have felt incomplete,” Shah said, expressing reverence for the community’s ‘Donyi-Polo’ tradition, which he described as a form of nature worship rooted in the reverence of the Sun and the Moon.
“The ‘Donyi-Polo’ tradition is not limited to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh; it has a distinct identity across India and the world as it is based on the worship of nature and the divine,” he said.
Criticising the Congress further, Shah said opposition leaders often equate discussion on India’s culture with belittling others. “Just as the Mising community has its own culture, India too has a culture enriched by diverse traditions. The BJP believes every culture, language and tradition has an equal right to flourish,” he added, PTI reported.
(With inputs from PTI)