PM: Infiltration not just poll issue but about safeguarding national security

New Delhi: Accusing the Congress of “allowing” land grabbing by infiltrators, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that infiltration into Assam is not just an election issue but is about safeguarding the identity of the state and national security.

Addressing virtually the BJP’s booth-level workers in Assam ahead of the April 9 Assembly polls, Modi said that the state saw a long span of instability but things changed over the past decade as the party’s double-engine government made every effort to ensure peace.

There is a need to remind first-time voters of the “misrule” of previous Congress governments in Assam and caution them that even the smallest mistake can push the state back, he said, noting that the BJP members were working hard to ensure a hat-trick for the party in the state.

“Infiltration is not just an election issue. It is an issue to safeguard the identity of Assam and national security. Congress allowed illegal land grabbing by infiltrators.

“Wherever infiltrators settle, they capture small businesses and the livelihoods of local people,” he said during the ‘Mera Booth, Sabse Mazboot Samvaad’ initiative by the ruling BJP that is aimed at connecting directly with party activists in poll-bound states.

The Prime Minister said the BJP workers must be fully aware of illegal land grabbing cases and the problems faced by local people, and the ordeal of those who have suffered due to illegal infiltrators must be known.

“People must know that Congress allowed encroachment, but the BJP is protecting rights,” he said.

Modi noted that 12 peace agreements were signed by the government with different organisations in the Northeast. He said the BJP workers must remind people how the Congress “used to make agreements only on paper to create headlines and mislead people”.

“We have seen the era when Assam was burning in violence. Assam saw a long span of instability, but things have changed in the past decade. But today, we can see a new confidence as the BJP’s double-engine government has made every effort for peace,” he said.

Under the Congress, peace agreements were pushed aside and the youths were left to suffer and drift towards unrest, Modi alleged.

“No agreement with insurgents and student organisations worked during the Congress rule in Assam. The Congress betrayed the Bodo cause.

“The BJP worked to establish peace and secure the future of the youth. We are sincerely implementing peace agreements on the ground. Assam has witnessed how peace has been established through honest efforts in the past decade,” he said.

Modi also said that the culture of the Bodo tribal areas is rich, but for decades, the Congress had neglected the region.