Tinsukia/North Lakhimpur, April 6 Union minister J P Nadda accused the Congress on Monday of treating the tea tribes as a "vote bank" that it "exploited" every five years while not working for their welfare.
The tea tribes in Assam are the descendants of the laborers brought to the region during the colonial period from the present-day Jharkhand, Odisha, and Bihar tribal belts in the 19th century.
Addressing a rally in support of the BJP's Doomdooma candidate, Rupesh Gowala, the former party chief also claimed that the Congress had rolled out the red carpet for infiltrators during its rule in this northeastern state.
"The Congress treated the tea tribes as a vote bank to be exploited every five years. You all supported them, but they pushed the future of the community into darkness," he said.
Nadda alleged that the Congress "invited infiltrators into Assam and sheltered them here, providing them with Aadhaar and Ayushman Bharat cards for appeasement politics."
"These people are grabbing the land of the Adivasis and the poor," Nadda said, while asserting that the BJP would take back this land and drive the illegal immigrants out.
"Their names are being deleted from the voter list, and those remaining will also be struck off," he said.
Nadda lauded the tea tribes, who are the majority in this eastern Assam constituency, for their "stance against infiltrators."
"I salute the people of the tea tribes for not allowing the infiltrators to settle here, thereby saving the future of Bharat Mata," he said.
The Union minister also criticized the Congress for the "violence, killings, strikes, unrest, and curfew" during its tenures in the state.
He alleged that the people were left to fend for themselves, and the government did not provide any relief.
The senior BJP leader said that the Congress has become a "tired, broken, hollow, and mentally bankrupt" party, failing to perform its role as a responsible opposition in Parliament.
He also questioned former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's contribution towards Assam, being a Rajya Sabha MP from the northeastern state.
Nadda maintained that it was the BJP-led government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi that had ensured peace, stability, and development in Assam in the past decade.
"After Modi became the prime minister in 2014, Assam and the North East were integrated with the mainstream. The 'double engine' government has transformed the face of this region," Nadda asserted.
He said that it was the Narendra Modi-led government that accorded classical status to the Assamese language.
Listing various welfare initiatives being undertaken in the state, Nadda promised that the BJP-led NDA would expand these measures once it returns to power.
Nadda said that connectivity has improved, the number of educational institutions has increased, jobs have been provided, and free education has been ensured by the state government.
He said that while these measures will continue, the BJP-led government will implement the Uniform Civil Code and undertake a massive programme to make the state flood-free if it retains power.
The Union Health Minister also addressed another rally for its ally, Asom Gana Parishad's candidate for Naoboicha constituency, Basanta Das, in Lakhimpur district.
The peace and development that Assam has witnessed in the last decade is leading the state in a new direction, with progress across all sectors, he said.
The changes are evident at the grassroots level with improved roads and bridges, the healthcare system, educational institutions, and employment opportunities, Nadda said.
He also expressed confidence that the people will re-elect the BJP-led NDA for a third straight term in the state in the April 9 elections.