Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday accused the Congress of compromising Assam’s land, culture and identity by encouraging illegal immigrants to enter and settle in the north-eastern state, as he laid the foundation stone for the new campus of the Assam Police’s 10th Battalion at Kusutuli.
“The Congress has allowed them to settle on the state’s fertile lands. This has led to a demographic crisis for the identity of the indigenous Assamese people. The party has not protected people’s homes and culture from these infiltrators,” Shah said, adding to the BJP’s attack on the opposition over the long-standing issue of infiltration.
Shah said that until the territory of Assam is rid of all illegal intruders, the state can never remain safe and blamed the Congress for failing to do anything for the benefit of the state, its culture or its development.
Read also: I assure the nation that Maoist insurgency will end by March 31: Amit Shah
“I challenge Congress to promise to rid Assam of illegal immigrants in its manifesto for the upcoming Assembly elections in Assam. But I am sure they will not do that. But I can assure you that we will not only remove them from the encroached lands, we will deport them from the country,” he said.
The new campus of the 10th Battalion of Assam Police will be built on a plot of land freed from encroachments by illegal settlers. Of the 708 bighas (234 acres) of land freed from encroachments, 174 bighas (57 acres) will be used for construction of the new battalion at a cost $260 Crores.
“This is an important event,” Shah said. “The place, which was a challenge earlier from a security point of view, will now put an end to this threat after the construction of the new battalion.”
Speaking at the event, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that in the last five years, the BJP-led government in the state has removed encroachers from 150,000 bighas (49,500 acres) out of the total 4 million bighas (1.32 million acres) under illegal occupation.
“Eviction campaigns will continue against such encroachers, and I promise to liberate 500,000 bigha (165,000 acres) of illegal settlers if we come to power in the next legislative elections,” he said, seeking support from those present to bring the BJP back to power.
