Opposition Congress members in the Nagaland assembly were up in arms. They drew attention to the state government’s lax attitude to the unabated influx of Bangladeshi nationals into the state illegally. This particularly affected the commercial town of Dimapur. The opposition clamoured for effective action to meet the threat. Congress members took strong exception to the Nagaland government leaving the matter callously to Non Government Organisations (NGOs). As a result the demographic dynamics of the state was threatened, especially the tribal complex. It is alleged that in course of time, the migrant population would reduce the Nagas to a minority inside their own state. Senior Congress leader Chingwang Konyak called in question the rationale behind the state government’s decision to leave the matter of controlling the influx to the Naga Council of Dimapur. The Council has of course started the process of identification of illegal immigrants and issuing identity cards to them. The President of the Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee, Imtisungit Jamir has warned that if the state NDA government fails to control the criminal activities, the task should be handed over to the Governor according to the Constitution.
There is no denying that the state Congress is politicising the issue and even trying to invoke Governor’s rule. It is a fact that illegal infiltration from Bangladesh is a threat to the Northeast. Assam is bearing the brunt of it and there the Congress has been in power for three successive terms. The state governments are somewhat lackadaisical about stemming the tide of illegal immigrants who increase their vote-bank in an unlawful manner. However, their outnumbering the local population in Nagaland is a remote possibility. The number of criminals among them also seems exaggerated. But they mostly belong to the minority community and with Islamic fundamentalism being a threat to Bangladesh itself, their entry into Nagaland and Assam may destabilise the social structure in these northeastern states.
