Shah backs SIR exercise, says infiltrators in voters' list pollute spirit of Constitution

New Delhi, Oct 10 (PTI) Backing the ongoing SIR exercise by the Election Commission, Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said inclusion of infiltrators in the voters' list pollutes the spirit of the Constitution and asserted that voting rights should only be available to the citizens of the country.

Delivering a lecture in memory of Dainik Jagran's former editor-in-chief Narendra Mohan on the topic "Infiltration (ghuspaith), demographic change and democracy", the home minister said the Centre will follow the policy of "detect, delete and deport" in dealing with infiltrators.

"The BJP has adopted the formula of detect, delete, and deport since the 1950s. We will detect the infiltrators, delete them from the voter list, and deport them from this country as well," he said.

Shah stressed that infiltration and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral polls should not be viewed through a political lens, emphasising that these were national issues.

"I want to ask all the citizens of the country -- who should decide who becomes the prime minister of the country or the chief minister? Should anyone other than the citizens of the country have the right to decide this?" he said.

Underlining that no one should interfere in the SIR exercise, Shah said the Congress is in a denial mode on the issue and asserted that the exercise took place during the party's government as well.

"The opposition is opposing the exercise because their vote banks are getting cut...It is the EC's Constitutional responsibility to clean the voters' list. You can go to court if you have any issues," he said.

Shah said a time will come when the opposition will also not be spared.

The opposition says it is the responsibility of the Centre to stop infiltration as the Border Security Force (BSF) is under its control, but there are certain areas on the border which cannot be fenced due to topography, he said.

"Centre alone cannot stop infiltration. State governments protect such infiltrators as some parties see a vote bank in them," he said.

Free and fair elections cannot take place unless the voter list is according to the voters' definition, which is being an Indian citizen and attaining the eligible age, the minister said.

He also referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement from the Red Fort on August 15 of the creation of a high-powered demographic mission to study illegal migration, its impact on religious and social life, the unusual settlement patterns arising due to population changes, and its effect on border management.

This mission will spark controversies, but the BJP is determined to save democracy and the country's culture. The BJP will always choose the country, no matter what controversies it has to face, he said.

Drawing a distinction between infiltrators and refugees, Shah said refugees come to India to save their religion, whereas infiltrators cross over the border illegally because of economic and other reasons.

"Who are infiltrators? Those who have not faced religious persecution and want to come to India illegally for economic or other reasons are infiltrators. If anyone in the world who wants to come here is allowed to do so, our country will become a dharamshala," he said.

Shah recalled that the Hindus of Pakistan were promised by the Indian government under former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru that they would be accepted in the country once tensions post the partition eased. This promise was part of the Nehru-Liaquat pact, he said.

"Dividing this country in the name of religion was a huge mistake... by cutting off the arms of Mother India, you made the British conspiracy successful," he said.

Successive governments forgot about the promise, and it was only after the Modi government came to power in 2014 that the promise was fulfilled through the Citizenship Amendment Act, Shah said, adding that the move drew unjustified criticism and even sparked riots.

He said no one pointed out that the CAA could not take away anyone's citizenship, but it was a tool to grant citizenship to persecuted religious minorities from countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh -- an unfulfilled promise since 1951.

"Just as much right I have on the soil of this country, that much right the Hindus of Pakistan-Bangladesh have on the soil of this country. I say this as the home minister of the country," he said.

Citing post-independence Census data, Shah noted that in 1951, Hindus constituted 84 per cent of the population and Muslims 9.8 per cent, while in 1971, Hindus were 82 per cent and Muslims 11 per cent, in 1991, Hindus were 81 per cent and Muslims 12.21 per cent, while in 2011, Hindus were 79 per cent and Muslims 14.2 per cent.

"According to the 2011 census, the growth rate of Muslims was 24.6 per cent while that of Hindus was 16.8 per cent. This was not due to the fertility rate but because of infiltration," the home minister said.

Shah said in Assam, the decadal growth rate of the Muslim population in the 2011 census was 29.6 per cent.

"This is not possible without infiltration. In many districts of West Bengal, this growth rate is 40 per cent, and in several border areas, it has reached up to 70 per cent. This is clear evidence that infiltration has occurred in the past," Shah said.

The minister said some parties have started seeing a vote bank in infiltration, so they have given shelter to the infiltrators.

"Our Gujarat also has a border; Rajasthan has one too, but infiltration does not happen there," he said.

Shah said there has been a very significant decline in the population of tribal communities in Jharkhand, and the reason is infiltration from Bangladesh.

He also presented the 'Jagran Sahitya Srijan Samman' in memory of the former editor-in-chief of Dainik Jagran. This award was given to an original work in one of the various genres of Hindi literature. PTI NES ABS RHL RHL