GUWAHATI, April 2: Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday campaigned for Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) candidate from Kaliabor constituency, Keshab Mahanta, claiming that the 10 years of development and positive transformation achieved under BJP-led NDA government ‘should be written in golden words in Assam’s history’.
“The AGP-BJP gathbandhan (alliance) in Assam has been there for the past decade and will certainly be there in the future, like the sun and the moon. The Congress says the alliance will not last, but that will be wishful thinking on the part of the Opposition as the lotus (the symbol of BJP) and elephant (the symbol of AGP) alliance is here to stay for several more years,” Shah claimed.
Notably, Shah’s visit to Kaliabor in Nagaon district marks his second election trip to the state in four days, also indicative of the ruling party’s aggressive campaign strategy ahead of the April 9 Assembly elections in the state.
Taking a direct dig at the Congress, Shah said that the Kaziranga rhinos are known the world over and have put Assam in the tourism map. “But the Congress governments had earlier handed over Kaziranga to illegal migrants. But the BJP-AGP government evicted the encroachers and ensured Kaziranga and its rhinos were safeguarded,” he said.
Shah also targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who campaigned for his party in Assam on Thursday.
“I see Rahul Gandhi campaigning today and making tall claims of achievement under the Congress government. However, I would like to ask him, what has the Congress done in Assam in the past 15 years,” Shah said.
“Between 2004 and 2014, when there were Congress governments at both the Centre and state, Assam received only Rs 1.28 lakh crore. However, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the state has received Rs 9.78 lakh crore during 2014 and 2024,’ the Union home minister claimed.
Referring to the eviction drives carried out by the BJP-led government in Assam, Shah clarified that the BJP was against the infiltrators but not against the original Muslim inhabitants of Assam. “Congress brought illegal infiltrators to Assam, and now, as the elections near, the Opposition is giving a Hindu-Muslim angle (communal spin),” he alleged.
Shah also touched upon the significant transformation in regard to security in the state. “As many as 10,000 individuals associated with insurgent outfits laid down arms and returned to the mainstream owing to the peace accords signed over the years under NDA,” he added.
