GUWAHATI, April 3 -- Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is against illegal infiltrators from Bangladesh, but isn't opposed to indigenous Muslims of Assam. "Congress encouraged illegal infiltrators to the state and now the party is giving a Hindu versus Muslim angle (ahead of election)," Shah said at an election rally in Kaliabor to seek support for ruling ally Asom Gana Parishad's, Keshab Mahanta, who is also a senior minister in the state government. "I want to make it clear that BJP is against 'ghuspethiyes' (illegal immigrants), but we are not opposed to Assam's indigenous Muslim population," he added. The present BJP-led government in the state has carried out massive eviction drives against illegal settlers in government lands since 2021 calling it a campaign against Bengali-speaking Muslims with origins in East Pakistan (present Bangladesh). Members of the community, who entered Assam after March 24, 1971 (when Bangladesh was formed) are considered illegal foreigners as per provisions of the Citizenship Act. To be sure this community is separate from indigenous Muslim groups like Goriya, Moriya, Julha, Syed etc. who speak Assamese and follow cultural practices separate from the migrants....