BJP defends Vajpayee over Bangladeshi infiltration issue, blames lack of pact

Guwahati: Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee could not resolve Bangladeshi infiltration issue owing to absence of any agreement with the neighbouring country, BJP President Amit Shah today said here.

"We did not have an agreement (Land Boundary Agreement) with Bangladesh at that time. So border fencing could not be completed. Now we have the agreement," Shah said.

"To solve the infiltration problem, we need BJP governments both at the Centre and the state. Only Assam government cannot solve this," Shah said.

AGP was an alliance partner with BJP during that time also and made the infiltration a big issue.

Shah, however, declined to commit on deportation of illegal immigrants. He said, "After assuming power, we will completely seal the border and expedite the process of updating NRC. Deportation will have to be done through joint agreements between governments of Assam, India and Bangladesh. Only Assam government cannot do it."

The BJP president said if the BJP-led alliance comes to power in Assam, the government will frame a mechanism within next three months to stop infiltration.

"For years, Assamese youths are facing problems because of Bangladeshi immigrants. They are also a security concern for the entire country,” he added.

"We have asked Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to clear their stand on infiltration issue, but they have not. Their silence is creating questions in our mind. Congress cannot solve this problem at all. Gogoi wants to win the polls by using Bangladeshis as vote bank," Shah claimed.

Talking about the campaign exercise, he said the party has conducted around 415 election meetings across the state, which is having a two-phase polling on April 4 and 11.

"Our intention is not only to form government in Assam, but to do all round development of all communities and all geographical locations. This election is also to link the state with Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led development process in the rest of India," he said.

He claimed that the BJP-AGP-BPF alliance represents the entire population of Assam and appealed people to elect the government with 2/3rd majority.