Patharkandi (Assam) [India], April 7 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on the Congress during a public rally in Patharkandi, asserting that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will not allow Assam to become an "infiltrator-dominated region" and calling on voters to elect a BJP government in the upcoming Assembly elections.
"I declare this from here today, and Rahul Baba, listen to this loud and clear, we will not allow Assam to become an infiltrator-dominated region," Shah said, targeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi while accusing the opposition of engaging in vote-bank politics.
Shah claimed that the BJP has already identified infiltrators and vowed strict action. "Elect a BJP government. We have already identified the infiltrators. Now, the time has come to weed them out, one by one," he said, adding that infiltration would be completely stopped if BJP-led governments are in power across Assam, West Bengal, and Tripura.
Highlighting the party's cultural agenda, Shah said, "Only the BJP has the resolve to rename Karimganj to 'Shribhumi'," while criticising the Congress for allegedly relying on infiltrators to gain political power.
Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi, Shah questioned his understanding of regional sentiments. "How could those whose roots lie in Italy possibly understand the significance of 'Shribhumi'?" he said.
Highlighting the Centre's initiatives, Shah credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for granting classical language status to Assamese and Bengali. He also defended the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), accusing Congress of opposing it for political gains.
"Whenever we speak of the CAA, the Congress opposes it. Through a conspiracy, they attempted to turn this region into an infiltrator-dominated zone. They repealed the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act of 1950 and later introduced the IMDT Act in 1983 to provide shelter to infiltrators," Shah alleged.
He further said that BJP-led governments across Assam and neighbouring states would take coordinated action to stop infiltration. "The moment BJP-NDA governments are formed in Assam, Bengal, and Tripura, infiltration will cease. We will systematically identify and expel every single infiltrator," he asserted, adding that such elements threaten jobs, rations, and livelihoods of local people.
"Ever since Rahul Gandhi assumed leadership of the Congress, the public discourse and standards of all Congress leaders have plummeted," Shah said.
Referring to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's remark, Shah added, "Just two days ago, the Congress President remarked that Gujaratalong with other states that support the BJPare populated by "illiterates." The Congress leaders ought to be ashamed of themselves. How dare you label Gujarat as "illiterate"the very land that has given the nation luminaries such as Dayanand Saraswati, Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Vikram Sarabhai, and Modi Ji?"
Calling Kharge's remarks undemocratic, the Union Minister said, "The Congress President further stated that the RSS and the BJP are like "snakes" and should be "killed." Mr Kharge, step up onto this stage and look around; thousands of BJP and RSS members are standing right here before you. This is not the language of democracy."
Assam will vote for its 126-member Assembly on April 9, with counting scheduled for May 4.
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