Congress-AIUDF will ‘open’ Assam to infiltrators: Shah
Pitching for another term for a Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Assam to “safeguard” the interests of the state, Union home minister Amit Shah said on Sunday the Congress-AIUDF combine would open “all gates” to infiltrators if voted to power.
In his first rally in the pollbound state, Shah also took a swipe at the Congress for calling the BJP “communal”, and questioned the grand old party’s alliances.
At the ‘Vijay Sankalp Samaroh’, Shah asserted that an era of peace and development has ushered in Assam, with the BJP in power in the state and also at the Centre under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Shah projected his party as the only alternative capable of safeguarding and promoting the regional culture of the state.
He also took a dig at the Assam Jatiya Parishad, a party floated by former AASU leader Lurinjyoti Gogoi, which is tipped to ally with Akhil Gogoiled Raijor Dal, without naming them, saying they are in the poll arena to help the Congress by
trying to cut into votes of the BJP.
Assam’s interests are not in their hearts, he said. The two parties are stridently opposed to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and have alleged that the CAA is a “threat” to Assam’s culture and identity.
The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), which has led mass agitations over the issue of regional identity in the past, has
backed Assam Jatiya Parishad.
Hitting out at the Congress, the Union home minister said the party had adopted the British empire’s policy of “divide and rule” by pitting different groups of people against one another.
“If they (Congress-AIUDF) come to power, they will open all gates to welcome them (infiltrators) because they are their vote bank,” he said.
KOKRAJHAR/NALBARI (ASSAM): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) can rid Assam of corruption, terrorism and pollution under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah told a rally in Kokrajhar district of the pollbound state on Sunday.
“If Assam has to be made corruption-free, intruder-free, terrorism-free and pollution-free, then only BJP can do so under the leadership of Modi,” he said.
“Form the NDA government in Assam with an absolute majority in the upcoming election and ensure the development of Bodo Land,” Shah added.
The home minister was addressing the crowd on the first anniversary of Bodoland Territorial Region Accord (BTR).
Assam is among the five states in the country slated to conduct assembly elections this year. The term of the 126-member assembly is ending in May.
The other states and union territories that will undergo polling later this year are Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and
Puducherry.
Upping the ante against the Congress, Shah said, “Congress continued the British policy of divide and rule. They created a divide between Adivasis and non-Adivasis, Assamese people and hill peoples, Bodos and nonBodos.”
“In 20 years, there was only bloodshed and 10,000 Assamese youths were killed by bullets fired by the Congress,” he added.
In an appeal to voters to opt for the saffron party, Shah said Assam will be “bullet-free, agitation-free and flood-free” if the BJP returns to power in the state.
Shah also slammed the Congress for its constant criticism that the BJP is a communal front.
“The Congress alleges us to be communal, but it has allied with Muslim League in Kerala and AIUDF in Assam. One thing is sure, Assam is not safe in the hands of Congress and AIUDF,” he told the crowd.
The BTR Accord, designed to usher in peace in the Bodoland Territorial Areas District (BTAD), was signed on January 27 last year by the Centre, the Assam government, all four factions of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland and the then Bodoland Territorial Council chief Hagrama Mohilary.
Shah also urged people to give five more years to make the state free from flood too.
“A flood of development came here. Hospitals, new roads, colleges are being constructed. Industries are being set-up here,” he said.
“In the coming days, Only BJP can solve the biggest problem of Assam -- floods... Give five years more to BJP and we will make Assam free from flood too,” Shah added.
If Assam has to be made corruptionfree, intruder-free, terrorism-free and pollution-free, then only BJP can do so under the leadership of Modi AMIT SHAH, Home minister