Federal Home Minister Amit Shah (archive photo)
NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday trained his guns on the Congress during its years in power in Assam, blaming the party for infiltration and alleging that it had “left our borders open to infiltrators” in what he described as an “attempt to change the demographics” of the state.
He also opposed the current BJP government of Prime Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, praising his “work to clear thousands of acres of land occupied by intruders”.Addressing a rally in poll-bound Assam, Shah harshly criticized the Congress party’s record, saying: “Assam had two problems: infiltrators were usurping the rights of Assamese…Congress governments had left our borders open to infiltrators. Infiltrators kept entering Assam.”
An attempt has been made to change the demographics of Assam by taking away jobs from the youth of Assam, food grains for the poor, and village lands.
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‘We will not spare a single infiltrator’: Amit Shah promises in Assam polls, slams Kunj over infiltration
Shah also praised the Sarma-led government, saying, “In the second five years, our president Himanta Biswa Sarma cleared and removed thousands of acres of land occupied by infiltrators. Now, elections are coming for the third time. Form a BJP government here again.”
“I promise you that we will bring back every hacker who entered during the Congress period.”He also highlighted infrastructure development under the BJP, saying, “Congress has ruled for years, but has done nothing to develop Assam. What Congress could not do in fifty years, we have done in ten years. In the last five years, 14 km of roads have been built in Assam every day… Nearly hundreds of bridges have been built, including four major new bridges.”Notably, CM Himanta Sarma was previously part of the Congress government in Assam. After souring relations with the party, he joined the BJP in 2015 and later became chief minister, succeeding fellow BJP member Sarbananda Sonowal.Meanwhile, Shah also launched the second phase of Assam’s Vibrant Villages programme, which will cover 1,954 border villages across 15 states and two union territories. The launch took place in Cachar district.Earlier in the day, the Union Home Minister arrived in the poll-bound state on a two-day visit to launch border infrastructure projects and address public gatherings.
