Shah accuses Cong of aiding infiltrators in poll-bound Assam, vows to drive out intruders from India

Borduwa/Guwahati, Dec 29 (PTI) Ahead of the assembly polls in Assam, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday launched a scathing attack against the Congress, accusing it of treating infiltrators, including those from Bangladesh, as the party’s vote bank and vowed to drive out the intruders not only from the state but from the entire country.

Assam, where the elections for the 126-member assembly are scheduled to be held in less than six months, Shah during his day-long visit also inaugurated the new building of the Guwahati Police Commissionerate, and paid homage to the martyrs of the Assam movement against infiltrators.

Shah, considered the principal poll strategist of the BJP, also urged the people of Assam to provide the party another five years so that the government can identify all infiltrators and send them back, while continuing to work for the original residents of the state.

Addressing a public rally at Borduwa, Shah said the Centre would identify every illegal immigrant from the neighbouring country, not only from Assam but also from the rest of India, and send them back.

He also claimed that the enactment of the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) (IMDT) Act in 1983, enacted during the Congress era, gave the infiltrators legal protection. The Act was later scrapped by the Supreme Court.

He inaugurated Rs 227 crore redeveloped Batadrava Than, the birthplace of Vaishnavite saint Srimanta Sankardeva, in Nagaon district.

"I assure the people of Assam from the holy place of Batadrava that the BJP government will identify all Bangladeshi infiltrators and send them back," he said.

Shah alleged that the cultural identity of the state's people was "gradually weakened under the influence of the infiltrators".

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not only ensured the protection of the cultural identity of the Assamese people but also focused on all-around development of the state", he said.

"The Congress was in power for so long, but it did nothing in memory of the martyrs of the Assam Movement,” he claimed, noting that the memorial came up because of the BJP governments at the Centre and the state.

Asserting that the last 10 years of the BJP rule in the state will be considered a "golden era", he said that Modi has come to the North East 80 times and to Assam 36 times since he became the PM 11 years ago.

Taking a dig at former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Shah claimed that the Congress had sent him to Rajya Sabha for 12 years, but he had come to the state only seven times, twice for filing his nomination papers.

"For him, Assam's development, culture and peace were just a matter of speech, as for years, the state had suffered from various agitations and violence," he alleged.

Shah said it was a historic occasion that the birthplace of Srimanta Sankardeva had been freed from encroachment by infiltrators.

He also asserted that the Himanta Biswa Sarma government has "freed over 1 lakh bighas of land from Bangladeshi infiltrators".

The illegal immigrants had even encroached forest land in Kaziranga National Park, but these plots were recovered by the state government, he said.

"Give the BJP another five years to ensure infiltrator-free Assam...We will identify all Bangladeshi illegal immigrants not only from Assam but also from the rest of India," Shah told people at the rally.

The Union home minister made a similar appeal after inaugurating an auditorium to the people of Assam to elect a government in next year's assembly polls which will work against infiltration and in favour of development of the state.

"It had been like a long bad dream for Assam till 10 years ago. Bandhs, blockades, firings, and bomb blasts were rampant. There were numerous insurgent groups, agitations were happening," Shah said after inaugurating a 5,000-seat auditorium here, the largest in the North East.

He asserted that the BJP-led government is now working for 'cultural and economic renaissance' of the state, and the auditorium, 'Jyoti-Bishnu Antarjatik Kala Mandir', inaugurated by him at the event, is a symbol of the state's growth.

Referring to the Swahid Smarak Kshetra, which he visited earlier in the day, Shah said the memorial for the martyrs of the six-year-long anti-infiltration Assam Movement was a long overdue tribute to their sacrifice.

One thousand beneficiaries of the Congenital Heart Disease programme were also present at the auditorium.

Shah said, "It is an extremely welcome step taken by Himanta Biswa Sarma. This initiative has ensured that these children will lead a healthy life, become engineers, DMs, IPS officers, and take the state and country forward." He also inaugurated the permanent building of Guwahati Police Commissionerate and a surveillance system, comprising 2,000 CCTVs, for the city. He also declared open an exhibition on new criminal laws, organised by the state CID at the new Commissionerate.

The Union home minister later left for Kolkata as the chief minister, in an X post, expressed his gratitude to Shah for dedicating several projects and paying tributes to the martyrs. PTI DG SSG TR BDC ACD NN