Assam BJP president Dilip Saikia on Thursday alleged that the Congress slogan of a ‘Natun Bor Asom’ (New Greater Assam) is a “dangerous conspiracy” aimed at protecting the rights of ‘Miyas’ at the cost of indigenous people.
He asserted that the Bharatiya Janata Party was taking both visible and subtle measures to safeguard the state and its people, and said these efforts would be conveyed to the new generation of voters.
Saikia also said the updated final National Register of Citizens (NRC) is not acceptable to the BJP in its current format and maintained that it will be rectified by a BJP government if it returns to power after the April 9 state polls.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, he said, "There is a big conspiracy behind the Congress slogan of a ‘Natun Bor Asom’. This ‘Bor Asom’ will be where the rights of the Miyas are secured for the future. They are saying that land cleared of encroachment will be given back, forest land, land belonging to our spiritual places will be given back. This is the Congress’ blueprint of politics of appeasement, their policy and stand against the indigenous."
‘Miya’ is originally a pejorative term used for Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam, and the non-Bengali-speaking people generally identify them as Bangladeshi immigrants. In recent years, activists from the community have started adopting the term as a gesture of defiance.
Accusing the opposition party of hatching a “dangerous conspiracy”, he maintained that the Congress attempted to create a counter-narrative whenever the current BJP-led state government had sought to take steps, like banning child marriage, polygamy, among others.
"Congress’ history post-Independence is a dark chapter. If they had mentioned of only ‘Bor Asom’, it would have shown some respect for Sukapha," Saikia said, referring to Chaolung Sukapha, founder of the Ahom kingdom.
"I want to ask the people, do you want an Assam where Miyas have the upper hand, or a BJP-led Assam that is secured and developed? Let there be debate and discussion on it," the Lok Sabha MP said.
He elaborated on the BJP’s support to the anti-foreigner six-year-long Assam Agitation, claiming that it was the only national political party to show solidarity while other parties, like the Congress and the Left, opposed the movement.
Underlining that the Indian National Congress had been in power in the state since the signing of the Assam Accord till 2016, barring 10 years, Saikia alleged that the party did not take any concrete or decisive steps to resolve the 'infiltration issue', leading to a situation where an important and elaborate exercise like updating the NRC went in vain.
He said the BJP, as well as the state government, has not accepted the final NRC draft, with the government also filing an affidavit before the court seeking re-verification.
"The aim of having the NRC updated (by deleting names of 'illegal foreigners') was not reflected in it. Our regime will itself do the rectification," he added.
Mentioning that the minority population in the state is around 36 per cent now, Saikia said, "We can’t complain as until there is awareness among our people, Congress will keep on its ‘investment’ in increasing their population."
He said legal provisions were always in place for checking social issues like child marriage and also acting against 'infiltrators' through laws such as the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, but they were not implemented by the Congress.
Saikia said the BJP has been taking steps to make the state free of 'illegal foreigners', and while some measures such as eviction drives have been visible, others have been subtle.
Asked about the party’s stance on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, he said, "CAA is a commitment for us, it is not a political issue."
(With inputs from PTI)
