Goalpara (Assam), April 3 The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates here on Friday, expressed their gratitude to Union Home Minister Amit Shah for his visit to the district ahead of the April 9 Assembly election and thanked him for his "guidance". Mentioning the issue of illegal infiltration in Assam, BJP candidate Tankeshwar Rabha urged for the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
Union Home Minister Shah addressed a public gathering in Goalpara's Dudhnoi as part of BJP's campaign for the upcoming state elections.
Contesting from the Dudhnoi (Scheduled Tribe) constituency, Rabha told IANS, "It is the first time that Union Home Minister of the country has come to this place. It is a very happy moment for us as we have also received his guidance to work for the people."
He flagged illegal infiltration from Bangladesh as a major issue in the district and urged for the implementation of UCC.
"Goalpara is a district where there are many illegal infiltrators from Bangladesh so implementation of UCC is very important. This is because the population of tribal people here is very less. Why is this so? It is not like their population has not increased but the infiltrators have taken away our culture, heritage, identity, and land," he said.
Rabha added that Union Minister Shah has clarified that UCC will not be applicable for tribal people.
He also accused the incumbent Congress MP Abdur Rashid Mandal (from Goalpara West Assembly constituency) for not standing by the tribal population.
"There is a sitting Congress MP from here. What did he do (in the last five years)? Not even a single road was made here. Forest is the heart of this place. The infiltrators from Bangladesh have illegally taken over those forests. The Congress is not standing with the tribals here," Rabha alleged.
Significantly, taking a tough stand on illegal infiltration, Union Minister Shah during his rally in Dudhnoi, alleged that the Congress had turned Assam into a hub of infiltrators.
"We have identified all illegal infiltrators. Give us five more years, and we will remove each one of them," the Union Home Minister said.
Meanwhile, Tankeshwar Rabha seemed assured of BJP's victory in the upcoming state polls.
He asserted that the tribals in the Goalpara West Assembly constituency are "with the BJP and NDA".
BJP candidate Pabitra Rabha, who is contesting from the Goalpara West (ST) constituency, referred to Home Minister Amit Shah as "Chanakya".
"He (HM Shah) is called the 'Chanakya' in Indian Politics. We are extremely grateful to have received his guidance. Today we got to see him from close quarters. I thank the BJP for this," he told IANS.
Citing the footfall in Union Home Minister Shah's rally, he also expressed confidence about BJP returning to power in the upcoming Assam Assembly election.
Moreover, Pabitra Rabha claimed that there is "no Congress factor" in the state.
"It will remain below 20 (Assembly seats) when the results of Assam polls are announced on May 4," he said.
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