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Accusing the Congress government in Assam of having failed to stop infiltration from Bangladesh, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said that the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre will completely seal the Indo-Bangladesh border to stop intrusion.
“Intruders have been continuously entering India since the day Bangladesh was created. Bangladeshi intruders are coming to India through the Indo-Bangladesh border. What is the reason, why didn’t you (Congress) stop them? Why didn’t you completely seal the Indo-Bangladesh border?” he asked at an election rally in Duliajan, Assam.
Highlighting the steps taken by his government in this regard, Singh said that a few months ago he had visited the India-Bangladesh border and held ‘talks with the Bangladesh government’.
‘We just need some time and we will seal the Indo-Bangladesh border completely so that no Bangladesh intruder can come in,” he said.
Later on Wednesday, Singh will address three more election rallies for the Bharatiya Janata Party candidates in Assam where assembly polls will be held in two phases on April 4 and 11.
The home minister will also attend two election rallies in West Bengal on Thursday before returning to the national capital.
Singh also claimed that the insurgency situation has improved considerably in the last 18 months since the BJP came to power at the Centre and appealed to all militant outfits in Assam to give up arms and come forward for talks.
“The insurgency situation in the country has improved considerably and is under control during the last 18 months and I am not making this claim myself but political analysts have been pointing this out,” he said.
“As the Union home minister, I want to send a message to all militants to give up the path of violence and arms. If they have any problem, they must end violence and talk to us. We are prepared to hold talks and settle all issues only if there is no violence and killing of innocent people,” Singh said.
He said, along with infiltration, there has been huge inflow of fake currency notes from Bangladesh and it is a matter of great concern as it ultimately ends up controlling the economy.
“Congress never paid attention to this problem but we are committed to solve this problem and will check the entry of fake currency from the neighbouring country,” Singh said.
Continuing his tirade against the Congress, Singh said the party’s president accuses the BJP of inciting violence but ‘most riots occur in Congress-ruled states and not in those where the BJP is in power’.
“The riots of 1983 in Nellie and the 1984 Delhi riots took place during Congress rule. The Congress should look into their conscience before making such baseless allegations,” Singh said.
He said during the last two years of the BJP rule at the Centre, there was no allegation of corruption and the party has ‘zero-tolerance towards corruption’.
He referred to Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi as ‘a senior citizen whom he respects and will not like to comment on him’, but said ‘the Congress has ruined the state during the last 15 years of its rule with the problems of poverty, unemployment, power, road connectivity still persisting’.
He said that the condition of tea garden workers was deplorable as even after ‘fifty years of independence, they were not under the Plantation Labour Act. Who stopped the Congress from implementing the Act in the gardens?’
“People from all over the world come to see the tea gardens but are shocked by the deplorable condition of the workers. Let our government come to power in the state and we will not leave any stone unturned in improving their condition,” Singh said.
Singh said that Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the first prime minister to emphasise on the development of the Northeast and set up a separate ministry for the region while Prime Minister Narendra Modi has allocated Rs 33,000 crore for the development of the region.
‘It is the BJP’s priority to connect each Northeastern states through roads, rail and Internet connectivity. The Centre is also committed to developing waterways on the Brahmaputra with work on 17 waterways to start soon while rail connection from Agartala to West Bengal via Bangladesh will also start soon,” he added.
The PM has also announced that ‘more than one crore poor people will be given free gas cylinders, farmers income will be doubled by 2022 and youths who want to work and earn will gain employment through skill development,’ he said.
“It was sure and certain that the BJP will come to power with the ABP-Nielson survey also confirming that the party will form the government in Assam and I appeal to people to vote and make the party win with an absolute majority,” the minister added.