Patharkandi/Hailakandi (Assam), April 7 Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday asserted that a 'change' is inevitable in West Bengal, and said that once the BJP comes to power in the state, all infiltrators will be sent back to their countries.
Addressing an election rally in Patharkandi, he also claimed that the Congress gave shelter to illegal immigrants in Assam's Barak Valley, making them "dominant" in Sribhumi, Silchar, and Cachar districts.
Shah alleged that the Congress opposes the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) because they know that the law will ensure that no infiltrators remain in the state.
"Persecuted Hindus from Bangladesh come within the ambit of this law...the Congress is opposed to this, but the party lays out a red carpet to welcome Muslim infiltrators," Shah alleged.
Claiming that India is not a 'dharamshala' (guest house), the BJP leader said that there is "no place for infiltrators" in the country.
"A 'change' is inevitable in West Bengal. Once the BJP comes to power in the state, all infiltrators from Assam, Tripura, and Bengal will be sent back to their countries," Shah said.
He alleged that the Congress wants to come back to power with the "help of infiltrators, but Rahul baba must know that his three generations cannot make Assam a land of infiltrators”.
Addressing another rally in Hailakandi, Shah claimed that the Congress had built 700 madrasas for Muslim students in Assam, but that the "BJP converted 402 of them into primary schools so that they can also have access to modern education".
The union home minister alleged that Congress leaders have "stooped low in public life since Rahul Gandhi came to the forefront of the party".
"This was evident from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s statement claiming Gujaratis are illiterate, as compared to voters in Kerala," he claimed.
Shah accused Kharge of calling the RSS and the BJP snakes.
“Ever since Rahul Gandhi became the leader of the Congress, the public stature of all Congress leaders has gone down”, he said.
The BJP leader also accused the Congress of humiliating the country by its protest during the AI summit.
"Rahul Gandhi calling the protesters his ‘babbar sher’ (brave lions) shows the low level that the Congress has stooped to," he said.
Shah also asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared both Assamese and Bengali as classical languages.
He claimed that the BJP has initiated several projects for the development of the Barak Valley, including the Silchar-Guwahati Expressway, a state secretariat in Silchar, and a centre of AIIMS in Sribhumi, among others.
Shah said that voters in the constituencies of the three districts of the Barak Valley have always supported the BJP, but “this time they must ensure that the saffron party and its alliance partners win all 13 assembly constituencies”.
He asserted that the BJP is committed to "protecting 'Jaati' (community), 'Maati' (land), and 'Bheti' (foundation) in Assam".
Shah claimed that the BJP changed the name of Karimganj to Sribhumi, but "how will those with roots in Italy know what the significance of the name change is?"
He was alluding to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi.