Guwahati: Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday made infiltration BJP’s battle cry for the upcoming Assam election, urging the people of the state to give the BJP-led govt another five years in office so that every infiltrator can be identified and sent back.While lauding the govt for preventing any infiltration bid over the past decade, Shah said prevention alone would not be enough, unless every single infiltrator has been thrown out of the country, so that the indigenous people of the state could reclaim their jobs, foodgrains and land, urging people to vote for an “infiltrator-free, peaceful and developed Assam” so that big industries can come and the youth can be employed in the state itself.
Addressing a rally in in Dhekiajuli, Shah said, “10 years have passed, but we could not complete some of the work against the infiltrators. In 10 years we have stopped infiltration, and no one can infiltrate now. But, will Assam benefit just by stopping infiltration? They will have to be thrown out. For the third time, form a Kamal Phool govt, and in five years, we will pick out each and every infiltrator and throw them out of Assam.”Invoking the 1983 Lale Tapu killings, when seven Assamese youths were murdered by suspected infiltrators, Shah said, “That day remains a black chapter in Assam’s history. Brave youths like Bhupen Deka and Prasanna Barua were murdered because they opposed infiltration. Today, under the BJP-led rule, no infiltrator has the courage to kill the youth of the state.”Linking infiltration to economic deprivation, Shah said the infiltrators were “eating up the jobs of Assam’s youth” and consuming resources which were meant for the poor. “They have no right over Assam’s land, grain or rice. Only when infiltrators are expelled, will Assam be truly free of worries,” he added.Later, at another rally in lower Assam’s Tihu, Shah said Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will be implemented while polygamy will be banned.Slamming APCC president Gaurav Gogoi, Shah said the Congress leader wanted to save infiltrators, and yet had the audacity to ask for votes. “Gaurav babu, listen carefully — make it clear before the people: Are you with the infiltrators or against them? Two things cannot happen at once,” Shah said, before adding, “If even by mistake a Congress candidate comes to you with the hand symbol, you must ask them straight: Are you with the infiltrators or with Assam?”Shah further said, “Congress has always been anti-Assam. In 1962 Jawaharlal Nehru bid farewell to Assam. This land does not belong to Jawaharlal Nehru, but this is an indispensable part of Mother India. Now, there is a Modi govt, and no one can encroach even one inch of India’s land.”Pointing to the development in the state’s infrastructure, Shah said, “PM Modi has opened the treasury for Assam’s development, providing Rs 9 lakh crore over the past 10 years, while Congress had provided only Rs 1.28 lakh crore in its 10 years.”The home minister contrasted BJP’s record with that of Congress, accusing the opposition of protecting infiltrators and failing to honour the martyrs of the Assam Movement. “The Congress govt had passed the IM(DT) Act to promote infiltration. They ruled for decades, but did not even build a memorial for the martyrs. It was Himanta Biswa Sarma who ensured that tribute was paid,” Shah said.Shah’s rally blended historical references with contemporary promises, reminding voters of BJP’s peace accords with the Bodo and tribal groups, claiming that more than 10,000 youths had laid down arms over the past decade.Highlighting surgical strikes and air strikes carried out by the Centre after terrorist attacks in Uri and Pulwama, Shah said, “Congress never made security its issue. Modi ji has ensured that Assam’s youth get jobs in peace, not bullets in violence.”
