Bengaluru, Jan 5 Responding to allegations by BJP leaders that the Karnataka government is providing houses to alleged Bangladeshi immigrants whose structures on prime government land in Bengaluru were demolished, following the intervention of the AICC, Minister for RDPR, IT and BT Priyank Kharge questioned the basis on which BJP leaders were claiming the presence of Bangladeshi immigrants in the city.
Speaking to the media in Bengaluru on Monday, Minister Kharge said, “What do they mean by illegal immigrants? Are they certain that illegal immigrants are present? Whose responsibility is it to stop illegal immigration? It is not the responsibility of the Union government. How are illegal immigrants entering India?”
“Is the BJP trying to suggest that Union Home Minister Amit Shah is not doing his job and has failed to protect the borders? On what basis are BJP leaders saying that these people are illegal immigrants? If they are illegal immigrants, the law will take its own course,” he said.
“But what is the Home Minister of India doing? How are people coming all the way to Bengaluru, bypassing the borders and passing through BJP-ruled states before reaching Karnataka? How is that possible? This shows that the government at the Centre is highly inefficient,” Kharge questioned.
Commenting on the stone-pelting incident involving Om Shakti devotees in Bengaluru, he said that whoever the stone-pelters were, irrespective of their religion, if they are found guilty, they should be sent behind bars.
“We will not tolerate any kind of disturbance that leads to communal disharmony in society. Whoever has committed the act, if there was malicious intent behind it, they must be put behind bars,” he said.
It can be recalled that commenting on the controversy surrounding the demolition of structures on encroached government land and the rehabilitation of encroachers, former Deputy Chief Minister and BJP MLA C.N. Ashwath Narayan alleged that all encroachers were Bangladeshis and accused the Karnataka government of diverting the issue under the pretext of providing houses to the poor.
Ashwath Narayan had claimed, “All encroachers are Bangladeshis. Technically, no one is eligible for house allotment. A probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is required in this regard. If I am wrong, anyone can challenge me. There is a report in the department — ask them. Around 25 lakh Bangladeshis are here. You may feel alarmed hearing this figure, but I am making this statement responsibly and not as a general remark.”
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