Silchar/Sribhumi, April 6 -- Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday attacked the BJP, especially Union Home Minister Amit Shah, for regularly raising the infiltration issue but not deporting the illegal entrants in large numbers despite being in the government for more than 10 years.
Addressing election rallies in Cachar and Sribhumi districts, he also alleged that the BJP has misused the delimitation exercise in Assam in its bid to win elections.
"When Amit Shah comes here, he only talks about Bangladeshi infiltrators. But the BJP doesn't drive these infiltrators out; they nurture them. It only plays politics in their name," he said.
For 10 years, the BJP has been in power at the Centre and in Assam, but it could not remove the infiltrators, the Congress leader said.
He claimed that during the Congress-led UPA government, 88,792 illegal migrants were deported from the country between 2005 and 2013.
"But under Narendra Modi's rule, only 2,566 people were removed between 2014 and 2019. The BJP, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah just make electoral promises; they do nothing in reality," the Congress chief alleged.
Kharge also slammed the BJP for allegedly misusing the delimitation exercise in Assam to win the elections. It was carried out in 2023.
During the delimitation exercise, Muslims were removed from areas where they had been in the majority, while other people were added, he alleged.
"In areas where there were more Dalits and Adivasis, people from other classes were included," he claimed.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.