Dudhnoi/Palashbari (Assam), April 3 Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma have prepared a roadmap for tribal development, and the BJP's return to power in the state would ensure its implementation.
Addressing a rally in Dudhnoi in the Goalpara district, Shah said that the Congress has never made an Adivasi woman the country's President, but Modi changed that, and Droupadi Murmu became the nation's first citizen.
"The Prime Minister at the Centre and the Chief Minister in Assam have a roadmap for the development of tribals in the state. It will be taken forward if people give the BJP a mandate for the third successive time," he said.
Addressing a rally in Palashbari, in the Kamrup district, the senior said there are allegations that the Assam Congress president has links with India's enemy country. "But he stays conspicuously mum about it," Shah said.
He was referring to allegations by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma against Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi and his wife of having links with Pakistan's spy agency, the ISI. Shah, however, did not mention either Gogoi by name or identify Pakistan as the enemy country.
Shah also accused the Congress of trying to block a Bill for setting up an IIM in Palashbari. It was the BJP which ensured that the institute was set up in the state, he asserted.
He told the gathering that the BJP's policy for the state was 'Approach Assam, Aspire Assam and Inspire Assam'.
In Dudhnoi, Shah alleged that the Congress never spoke of tribal welfare and its successive governments since Independence had spent only Rs 25,000 crore on tribal development. But in the past 11 years, the prime minister has given Rs 1.38 lakh crore for the community, he said.
The Union minister termed Goalpara 'Mini Assam' as several tribes, including the Rabha, Bodo, Hajong, and Koch, along with Adivasi tea garden workers, reside in the district. Only the BJP can ensure their development, he said.
Shah also asserted that tribal areas will not come under the ambit of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
"The Congress is spreading rumours to scare tribals that they will be affected by the UCC, but this is absolutely untrue, and no tribal will fall under its ambit," he said.
Shah also asserted that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had taken the art, culture, food, textiles, music and dance of tribals to the global stage.
"Each tribal family will be given a cow and a buffalo, and I, as the cooperation minister, will ensure this," Shah said.
On the recent violence in the adjoining Garo hills of Meghalaya, Shah said that infiltrators sought to capture power in the Garo council by marrying tribal women, and this led to the strife.
He accused the Congress of making Assam a hub for infiltrators, and the BJP government has already started the process of sending them back. "Give us another five years in power in Assam, and we will rid the state of each and every identified infiltrator by sending them back," he said.
The Union home minister said the BJP restored peace in Assam by signing several accords since 2019 and bringing over 10,000 youths to the mainstream through surrenders.
He alleged that whenever he talks about disturbed times in the state since the Assam agitation days, "Rahul baba (Gandhi) says, ' why do I talk about the past".
"We have to remember the past mistakes made by the Congress and ensure those are not repeated," he said.
If the Congress wins any seat in the April 9 assembly polls, the northeastern state will again witness instability, Shah claimed.
Highlighting several development projects undertaken by the BJP, the Union minister said the Congress cannot even imagine taking initiatives of this scale to ensure progress of the state.
"Don't waste a single vote on 'hand' (Congress' poll symbol), cast it in favour of the BJP's lotus," he added.
Elections to Assam's 126 assembly constituencies will be held on April 9, with the counting of votes scheduled on May 4.