New Delhi, March 31 – Bihar BJP State President Sanjay Saraogi reiterated the party's concerns over Bangladeshi infiltrators illegally residing in India on Tuesday, calling it a national issue rather than an election tactic.
Supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks on infiltrators, Saraogi said, "What the Prime Minister has said is correct; Bangladeshi infiltrators have become a problem for the entire country. Go and see in Bihar, especially in the Seemanchal area. Home Minister Amit Shah himself was present in that border area along with senior officials for three days in Bihar. This shows how seriously the Government of India is taking the matter."
"In Assam and Bengal, especially in Bengal, a very large number of Bangladeshi Muslims have settled, due to which the resources of Bengal are being misused today… either it be the Assam border region, their population is increasing, these infiltrators are making houses there… this is becoming a national problem, infiltrators are not just an election matter," he added.
Speaking on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Saraogi accused her of making "completely baseless and absurd" statements. "The kind of statements she is making are completely baseless and absurd. In her statements, one can already see the nervousness of defeat even before the elections. Such statements cannot be justified under any circumstances, especially during elections."
"The way the government in Bengal has allegedly encouraged people from Bangladesh to Bengal for the sake of vote-bank politics, and due to this vote-bank politics, a large number of people from a particular community have come there. I say openly that the number of Muslims coming from Bangladesh has increased significantly…" he added.
Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Modi accused the Congress of "allowing" land grabbing by infiltrators in Assam. Addressing BJP booth-level workers ahead of the April 9 Assembly polls, PM Modi said, "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."
He highlighted that Assam experienced long periods of instability before the party's double-engine government brought peace over the past decade, and urged workers to remind first-time voters of past misrule to secure a third consecutive term for the BJP in the state.