In Assam/Tihu (Assam), March 29 The BJP government has stopped infiltration in Assam, but it was "not enough", and every illegal immigrant must be sent back, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday and asserted that a Uniform Civil Code will be implemented in the state.
He accused the Congress of trying to protect infiltrators and alleged that when the party was in power, it kept the borders porous "out of greed for a vote bank", thereby changing the state's demography.
Addressing poll rallies in Sonitpur district's Dhekiajuli and Tihu in Nalbari, he claimed that the Himanta Biswa Sarma government has "freed" 1.25 lakh acres of land that was encroached upon by infiltrators.
In the next five years, he will ensure no land remains under their control, the former BJP chief said. Shah said that 10 years ago, the BJP had vowed to stop infiltration in Assam and kept that promise.
"However, this is not enough as we have to now send each illegal immigrant out of the country in the next five years," he said.
In Tihu, Shah said a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will be implemented in the state in the coming days to "ban four marriages among a particular community".
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had earlier promised to implement UCC in the state if he became chief minister after the assembly polls.
The state has already passed an anti-polygamy bill, making it an offence which may lead to a maximum of 10 years of imprisonment, barring some exceptions. Uttarakhand is the first state in the country to implement UCC.
At the poll rallies, Shah alleged that infiltrators had taken away the employment of the indigenous Assamese youth and seized the foodgrains of the poor.
He accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of opposing the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in several states to "protect infiltrators". "We will not let this happen."
The Election Commission of India is trying to weed out infiltrators from the electoral rolls, and the Congress is trying to stop it, Shah claimed.
"But the BJP government will detect each one of them, delete their names from the electoral rolls and deport them back to the country from where they came," he asserted.
Shah accused Assam Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi of "wanting to protect infiltrators" and asked him to clarify his stand on the issue.
"For years, the Congress kept borders open for infiltrators and, in their greed for a vote bank, changed the state's demography," he claimed, adding that infiltrators have reached different parts of the country from Assam and West Bengal over the years.
Shah said Assam CM Sarma had prevented infiltrators from entering the state from across the border.
Accusing the Congress of doing nothing for the martyrs of the Assam Agitation, he said it was the BJP government in the state that set up a 'Swahid Smarak' in Guwahati in memory of the martyrs.
The Union home minister alleged that the Congress, during its rule, did not take measures to safeguard the nation, whereas Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a tough stand against terrorists.
"When terrorists struck in Uri, the PM ordered a surgical strike; after the Pulwama attack, there was the Balakot airstrike, and after the Pahalgam incident, he ordered 'Operation Sindoor' to teach them a lesson," Shah said.
He also accused the Congress of "always being anti-Assam" as was "evident during the India-China war when the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had left the state to its fate".
"Under Modi's leadership, no 'mai ka laal' (anybody worth his salt) could snatch even an inch of the nation's land," Shah said. The Union minister also alleged that the Congress had no respect for Assam's culture.
"Assam's first chief minister Gopinath Bordoloi is known as 'Lokpriya' (people's beloved) across the country. But the Congress did not give him Bharat Ratna because he had opposed Nehru's plan of giving the state to Pakistan along with the area that is now Bangladesh."
"It was Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who gave him (Bordoloi) the nation's highest honour. The Congress denied Bhupen Hazarika the award, and it was Modiji who bestowed him with the Bharat Ratna," Shah said.
The senior BJP leader said that his party's government established peace in the state by signing accords with militant groups, ending the insurgency.
During the Congress rule, the state witnessed gunfights and bomb explosions, but the BJP ensured that 10,000 youth laid down their arms and joined the mainstream," Shah added.
He said that Congress ruled the state for 15 years, but "why didn't they sign the accord in Bodoland? The answer is simple: The Congress' policy is to make people fight and rule over them," Shah said.
He asserted that PM Modi has opened the Centre's coffers for Assam's development. "I want to ask Gaurav Gogoi what his father, Tarun Gogoi, did for the state?"
Tarun Gogoi was the chief minister of Assam for three consecutive terms, from 2001 to 2016.
Shah urged people to vote for the BJP in the upcoming assembly elections to make Himanta Biswa Sarma the chief minister again so that Assam is made infiltrator-free, and peace and development are ensured.
He apologised to the people for his delay in reaching the poll venue by over three hours due to inclement weather.
He was scheduled to arrive at Dhekiajuli in a helicopter from Guwahati. But the plan was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions, and he reached the venue by road.
Polling to 126 assembly constituencies in Assam will be held on April 9. The counting of votes will be held on May 4.