Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday accused the Congress of treating Bangladeshi infiltrators as a vote bank, alleging that illegal immigration posed a threat to Assam’s people, culture, land and identity.
Addressing a public rally at Borduwa in Assam’s Nagaon district, Shah said the Centre was committed to identifying illegal immigrants from the neighbouring country not only in Assam but across India. “We will identify all Bangladeshi infiltrators not only from Assam but also from the rest of India,” he said.
The home minister asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had safeguarded Assam’s cultural identity while pushing comprehensive development. “The Prime Minister has taken steps to ensure peace and development in Assam, which is not only on paper but a reality,” Shah said.
Referring to the eviction of encroachments, Shah said the birthplace of Vaishnavite saint Srimanta Sankardeva had been reclaimed. Calling it a historic moment, he said the site had been “freed from encroachment”.
Also read: Amit Shah opens redeveloped birthplace of Sankardeva in Assam
“The state government, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, has freed over 1 lakh bighas of land from Bangladeshi infiltrators,” Shah said, urging voters to back the BJP for another term. “Give the BJP another five years to ensure infiltrator-free Assam,” he told the gathering.
Shah was in the state to inaugurate the Rs 227-crore redevelopment of Batadrava Than, the birthplace of Srimanta Sankardeva. Drawing a link between the saint’s philosophy and the Centre’s vision, he said Sankardeva had given the call of ‘Ek Bharat’, which the Prime Minister was now following.
Highlighting security gains, Shah said the BJP-led government at the Centre had signed peace accords with several militant outfits over the past 11 years, adding that 92 per cent of the clauses in these agreements had already been implemented.
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