Speaking at a public rally to mark the first anniversary of the signing the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) Accord at Kokrajhar in Assam, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday alleged that the Congress will only welcome infiltrators into the state instead of working for its welfare.
Reminding the Assamese people of Congress' 'divide and rule' policy, the Union Home Minister said, "It was only bloodshed in Assam for 20 years. 10,000 youth were killed. It was Congress who relentlessly dropped Assamese youth down with bullets."
Amit Shah urged Assam to give the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) five more years, following which the state will be "free from bullets, agitations and floods."
"Congress alleges BJP to be communal, but it has allied with Muslim League in Kerala and the AIUDF in Assam; Assam is not safe in hands of Congress and AIUDF," said Amit Shah at the public rally.
Notably, the BJP is hedging its bets on the popular "infiltration" rhetoric that has been instigating narrow ethnonationalism in Assam for a while now. Marking the saffron camp's future prospects in the heels of the recent Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) win, Amit Shah said that the Bodo region will prosper only under the BJP.
He assured that the political rights, culture and language of the Bodo people will be preserved.
Amit Shah said that due to the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a new era of development and peace has prevailed in Bodoland Territorial Region.
"PM Modi had initiated the process to end insurgency in the Northeast by signing the Bodo Peace Accord. Efforts were made for settlement for Bru-Reang issue and 700 members of 8 armed groups laid down arms," he said.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new India and Atmabharat vision will be not ended without new Bodo land and Atmabharat Bodo territory," the Home Minister said.
Shah said that once the region was known for terror and bloodshed, this area will now become the most developed area of the state.
With the Bodo Peace Accord, the Prime Minister gave the message -- wherever there is unrest in the Northeast, negotiate and pave the way for peace, he added.
He criticised Congress for not fulfilling any promises for the BTR region.
Only Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), under the leadership of Narendra Modi, can make Assam corruption-free, terrorism-free and pollution-free, Shah said.
Political rights, culture, and language of all communities of Assam secure under BJP government, he further added.
BTR Accord inked a year ago, marks the beginning of the end of the insurgency in the Northeast, he said.
"Please identify those instigating disputes in the name of Assamese and non-Assamese, Bodo and non-Bodo. They are not doing it for our development but are playing politics. It is high time that people of Assam teach a lesson to such people," Shah said in Kokrajhar.
He said that this rally is a reply to those who disturbed the peace in Assam by spreading venom in the name of Bodo and non-Bodo. Today, Bodos and non-Bodos both are present here, Shah added while speaking at the opening ceremony of the first BTR Accord Day.
The BTR accord was signed last year on January 27 in New Delhi.
(With inputs from agencies)
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