UCC to be implemented in Assam: Amit Shah
The BJP government has stopped infiltration in Assam, but it was “not enough”, and every illegal immigrant must be sent back, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday and asserted that a Uniform Civil Code will be implemented in the state.
He accused the Congress of trying to protect infiltrators and alleged that when the party was in power, it kept the borders porous “in their greed for a vote bank”, thereby changing the state’s demography.
Addressing poll rallies in Sonitpur district’s Dhekiajuli and Tihu in Nalbari, he claimed that the Himanta Biswa Sarma government has “freed” 1.25 lakh acres of land that was encroached upon by infiltrators.
In the next five years, he will ensure no land remains under their control, the former BJP chief said. Shah said that 10 years ago, the BJP had vowed to stop infiltration in Assam and kept that promise.
“However, this is not enough as we have to now send each illegal immigrant out of the country in the next five years,” he said.
In Tihu, Shah said a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will be implemented in the state in the coming days to “ban four marriages among a particular community”.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had earlier promised to implement UCC in the state if he became chief minister after the assembly polls.
The state has already passed an anti-polygamy bill, making it an offence which may lead to a maximum of 10 years of imprisonment, barring some exceptions. Uttarakhand is the first state in the country to implement UCC.
At the poll rallies, Shah alleged that infiltrators had taken away the employment of the indigenous Assamese youth and seized the foodgrains of the poor.
He accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of opposing the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in several states to “protect infiltrators”. “We will not let this happen.”
The Election Commission of India is trying to weed out infiltrators from the electoral rolls, and the Congress is trying to stop it, Shah claimed.
“But the BJP government will detect each one of them, delete their names from the electoral rolls and deport them back to the country from where they came,” he asserted.
Shah accused Assam Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi of “wanting to protect infiltrators” and asked him to clarify his stand on the issue.
“For years, the Congress kept borders open for infiltrators and, in their greed for a vote bank, changed the state’s demography,” he claimed, adding that infiltrators have reached different parts of the country from Assam and West Bengal over the years.
Shah said Assam CM Sarma had prevented infiltrators from entering the state from across the border.
Accusing the Congress of doing nothing for the martyrs of the Assam Agitation, he said it was the BJP government in the state that set up a ‘Swahid Smarak’ in Guwahati in memory of the martyrs.
The Union home minister alleged that the Congress, during its rule, did not take measures to safeguard the nation, whereas Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a tough stand against terrorists.
“When terrorists struck in Uri, the PM ordered a surgical strike; after the Pulwama attack, there was the Balakot airstrike, and after the Pahalgam incident, he ordered ‘Operation Sindoor’ to teach them a lesson,” Shah said.
He also accused the Congress of “always being anti-Assam” as was “evident during the India-China war when the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had left the state to its fate”.
“Under Modi’s leadership, no ‘mai ka laal’ (anybody worth his salt) could snatch even an inch of the nation’s land,” Shah said. The Union minister also alleged that the Congress had no respect for Assam’s culture.
“Assam’s first chief minister Gopinath Bordoloi is known as ‘Lokpriya’ (people’s beloved) across the country. But the Congress did not give him Bharat Ratna because he had opposed Nehru’s plan of giving the state to Pakistan along with the area that is now Bangladesh.”
“It was Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who gave him (Bordoloi) the nation’s highest honour. The Congress denied Bhupen Hazarika the award, and it was Modiji who bestowed him with the Bharat Ratna,” Shah said.
The senior BJP leader said that his party’s government established peace in the state by signing accords with militant groups, ending the insurgency.
During the Congress rule, the state witnessed gunfights and bomb explosions, but the BJP ensured that 10,000 youth laid down their arms and joined the mainstream,” Shah added.
He said that Congress ruled the state for 15 years, but “why didn’t they sign the accord in Bodoland? The answer is simple: The Congress’ policy is to make people fight and rule over them,” Shah said.
He asserted that PM Modi has opened the Centre’s coffers for Assam’s development. “I want to ask Gaurav Gogoi what his father, Tarun Gogoi, did for the state?”
Tarun Gogoi was the chief minister of Assam for three consecutive terms, from 2001 to 2016.
Shah urged people to vote for the BJP in the upcoming assembly elections to make Himanta Biswa Sarma the chief minister again so that Assam is made infiltrator-free, and peace and development are ensured.
He apologised to the people for his delay in reaching the poll venue by over three hours due to inclement weather.
He was scheduled to arrive at Dhekiajuli in a helicopter from Guwahati. But the plan was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions, and he reached the venue by road.
Polling to 126 assembly constituencies in Assam will be held on April 9. The counting of votes will be held on May 4.
BJP to score hat-trick in Assam, to come to power for third term in row: Nabin
BJP chief Nitin Nabin on Sunday asserted that the party will score a hat-trick in Assam by forming the government in the state for the third consecutive term.
Addressing an election rally in support of Margherita candidate and sitting BJP MLA Bhaskar Sharma, Nabin also attacked the previous Congress governments for allegedly engaging in vote-bank politics instead of developing the state and said there was a need to remember the “black chapter”.
“The BJP is going for a hat-trick after the assembly elections. We first formed the government under Sarbananda Sonowal’s leadership, followed by Himanta Biswa Sarma’s tenure. This time, we will form our third government under the leadership of Sarma,” he said.
Nabin said he has been visiting Assam since 2009-10 for various party work and has travelled extensively across the state.
“We need to remember the black chapter. At that time, there was no talk of development at all. There was tension. People used to discuss only violence and agitation,” he claimed.
However, the entire situation changed after the BJP-led NDA came to power in 2016, and the entire nation started talking about Assam’s development, the BJP chief asserted. “Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, Assam has become a state of opportunities,” he added. Nabin also said that the previous state government, led by the Congress, worked only for vote-bank politics and did not create any milestone in the state during its tenure.
The BJP national president further said that its government works only for the people of the country, and not for the infiltrators.
“We do not form governments for the infiltrators. Only people of Assam and the country have all rights in the state, not the illegal immigrants. Our government will protect the mothers and sisters of Assam, and will never compromise with the infiltrators,” he added.
Nabin said the BJP government took bold steps for the nation’s security, Assam’s identity and eliminating corruption from the system. “No one from the Opposition could level any corruption charge against any minister in the last 12 years. This is how the BJP functions,” he claimed.
The BJP leader said the previous Congress government had neither any policy nor clear intentions to work for Assam. “For them, the population of the country was a challenge. But PM Modi says 140 crore people are his strength and inspiration,” he added.
Talking about the war situation in West Asia, Nabin alleged that a few are spreading rumours that essential goods will not be available in the coming days.
“Be assured that the Narendra Modi government will take the country forward in a normal atmosphere despite global instability. The PM assured in Parliament that the government will not let the public face any difficulty,” he said, while mentioning the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mentioning various schemes being implemented by the BJP government, Nabin claimed that people from the Northeast once used to say that their “wards had gone to India when they went for studying in Delhi or other parts of the country”.
“Youths of Assam had to escape from the state for education and jobs. That situation has completely changed and nobody talks like that anymore. People now believe that the Northeast is part of India; it is India. Also, lots of education and job opportunities have been created, and youths nowadays don’t go out of the state,” he added.
Elections to the 126-member Assam Assembly will be held on April 9. Votes will be counted on May 4.
This will be the first assembly election after the delimitation exercise, which was done in 2023.
Presently, the ruling BJP’s strength in the Assam assembly is 64, while its allies AGP has nine MLAs, UPPL has seven and BPF has three members.
In the Opposition camp, the Congress has 26 MLAs, AIUDF has 15 members and CPI(M) has one MLA. There is one Independent legislator as well.
Kharge announces Cong’s ‘5 guarantees’ for Assam
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday announced his party’s “five guarantees” for poll-bound Assam, with a focus on women’s welfare, healthcare for all, land rights and justice in the Zubeen Garg death case.
He also took a swipe at the BJP-led government in the state, accusing it of indulging in rampant corruption and working “to fill the coffers” of its leaders and their families. Addressing a rally at Naoboicha in Lakhimpur district, Kharge listed the party’s ‘five guarantees’, which include a monthly cash transfer to women, along with an additional Rs 50,000 assistance to women willing to set up or expand a business.
“Our transfer will be unconditional. It will not be like what the BJP government is doing, where women are asked to be members of their party,” he said.
The Congress, which is looking to wrest power from the BJP, pledged Rs 25 lakh cashless health insurance for all families, permanent land pattas for 10 lakh indigenous people and Rs 1,250 per month for senior citizens of the state.
“We also pledge to ensure justice in the Zubeen Garg death case within 100 days if Congress comes to power,” Kharge added.
Alleging rampant corruption by the BJP-led government in the state, the Congress president claimed that even the family members of the party’s leaders are involved in it. He claimed that the BJP was “using its ‘double engine’ in Assam to loot and fill the coffers of its leaders in Delhi”.
Hitting out at Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Kharge said that he was a “’nakli’ (fake) CM” as the BJP had fought the 2021 elections with Sarbananda Sonowal at the helm. “But after the elections, Sarma removed tribal leader Sonowal to grab the Assam CM’s chair,” he claimed.
Kharge also alleged that Sarma’s government was intimidating people and creating a fear psychosis, and trying to divide the people of the state.