Promising to solve the issues of recurring floods, illegal migrants and condition of tea garden workers in Assam, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BJP leader Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday accused the opposition Congress of failing to solve them during its days in power in the northeastern state.
Asserting that the saffron party will permanently solve the problems of illegal migrants and flood menace if it is re-elected in Assam, Adityanath claimed at an election rally in Udarbond that peace, unity and development have been ushered in the state in the past five years.
His party will also undertake a scheme for giving a new identity to tea gardens and their workers in the state.
"Five years back (during Congress rule), there was no discussion on development of Assam, and divisions were created among people, on the basis of areas, for political gains. There were also problems of Bodoland, illegal migrants and insurgency. But that changed under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who converted the 'Look East' policy to 'Act East' policy, changing the image of the northeastern region," the Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
Adityanath claimed that there is no militancy, lawlessness or infiltration in the northeastern states and Assam in particular.
Continuing his attack on the grand old party at the national level, Adityanath said, that the Congress in 1952 had introduced Article 370 granting special status to Jammu and Kashmir, which allegedly "paved the way for militancy there".
“Congress had put restrictions on buying land there. But now with revocation of Article 370, anybody from any part of the country, even from Assam, can buy property there," he said.
Adityanath pointed out that Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee had strongly opposed Article 370, saying it was a threat to national unity as in a country there cannot be two Constitutions, two flags and two prime ministers.
It was PM Modi who fulfilled Mookerjee's dream by revoking Article 370, thereby ending militancy in Kashmir, he said.
Speaking at a rally in Lumding, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said the BJP, if voted to power, will not allow infiltrators from Bangladesh to reside in Assam.
Rajnath said the BJP government has set up electronic surveillance across the Indo-Bangla border in Assam to stop infiltration from the neighbouring country.
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"We will not allow politics over illegal immigration. Assamese culture and identity will be protected. If we had any bad intention, we would not have conferred Bharat Ratna on Dr Bhupen Hazarika," he said.
Talking about the perennial flood problem, Singh said the BJP government, once re-elected, will do everything possible to solve it.