BJP not against Assam’s indigenous Muslims: Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday made it clear the BJP was not against the indigenous Muslims of Assam and was against infiltrators, as he accused the Congress of facilitating illegal immigration during its rule in the State. Addressing an election rally in Kaliabore for AGP’s Keshab Mahanta, he also asserted that the alliance between the BJP and the AGP was “like the Sun and the Moon”, and asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to stop day-dreaming that the partnership will end.
Shah alleged the Congress handed over the world-famous Kaziranga National Park to infiltrators who encroached on forest land and endangered the one-horned rhinoceros. “It was the NDA Government that evicted the encroachers and ensured Kaziranga was once again on the world tourism map,” Shah said.
Shah alleged that when infiltrators are removed from encroached land, the Congress tries to portray it as faith-based politics. “The Congress settled infiltrators, and when they are evicted, the party tries to give a Hindu-Muslim angle to it. I want to make it clear that the BJP is against infiltrators and is not opposed to indigenous Muslims in Assam,” he said. Shah made the remarks following accusations from opposition parties that the BJP was polarising the people of Assam based on faith ahead of the Assembly elections.
Alleging the Congress did nothing for Assam’s development during its 15-year rule in the state, Shah targeted Rahul Gandhi, who is on a visit to the poll-bound northeastern state on Thursday, asking, “What did the party do for the State during its rule?” “Prime Minister Manmohan Singh represented Assam (in Rajya Sabha), but neither the then Central government nor the state government did anything for the state’s development,” he alleged.
The Congress, when it was in power at the Centre, gave only Rs 1.28 lakh crore to Assam in 10 years. “But Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave Rs 9.78 lakh crore to the state between 2014 and 2024,” Shah said. The Centre gave Rs 1.35 lakh crore for infrastructural development, which included building highways, railways, waterways, airports, nine medical colleges and several engineering colleges, said Shah.
The Union Home Minister also pointed out that the Prime Minister took the initiative of setting up a Rs 27,000-crore semiconductor chips facility at Jagiroad.
“The BJP has taken steps to preserve the heritage of the state, constructed a memorial for the martyrs of the Assam agitation against foreigners, built an 80-feet statue of legendary Ahom general Lachit Barphukan and took his achievements to all corners of the country,” he said. Shah alleged the Congress did not honour Assam’s first Chief Minister, Gopinath Bordoloi, and eminent singer Bhupen Hazarika with the Bharat Ratna.
