Responsibility of Centre, BSF to check illegal infiltration, says TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee

Banerjee who was on a visit to Assam while talking to media persons in Guwahati said, “Is there anything in the public domain that centre can show to the world that the West Bengal government is not co-operating with centre on anything. And on checking illegal infiltration along the Bangladesh border it’s the responsibility of the BSF, since they man the border and its centre’s job is to secure the border. Just because they have a government from the same party in Assam doesn’t mean they are doing a fair job. There are several parameters where Assam is lagging behind”.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said that the government is trying to stop cross border influx both in Assam and West Bengal, while there is no cooperation from West Bengal, Assam is standing rock-solid behind the centre in dealing with the influx.

Addressing a public rally to mark the first anniversary of the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led NDA government in Assam, Shah said, “Together with Central para military forces Assam government and Central government has built an impregnable wall against influx. We are trying to stop influx both in Assam and West Bengal, we do not get any co-operation from West Bengal whereas Assam is standing rock-solid behind the centre and with result evident in the remarkable decrease in infiltration”.

Shah said that he visited the Indo-Bangladesh border at Mankachar in Assam on Monday. “We promised to stop the cross border influx. The data reveals that during the last six years, infiltration has declined hugely and some patches of border fencing are constructed and once that happens influx will stop completely”.

Asserting that people from Assam will run Assam, he said, “When home minister was in Assam his tone on CAA was different and in West Bengal Bengal it is different, he never speaks about CAA in Assam. CAA is a jumla for BJP, they are taking so much time to frame the clauses of the laws, for over two and half years they could not form the laws. CAA is a carrot and stick for BJP.”

Banerjee stated the National Register of Citizens (NRC) made in Assam by spending Rs 1700 Crore is botched up. “Here even the chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is saying that

should be re-verified, so this just goes to show there are differences within BJP on NRC since NRC was a project of centre. He is saying that those who should have been included are out of list and those out should have been in the list. BJP is admitting its failure.”

Exuding confidence that TMC will perform in next year’s assembly polls Tripura and Meghalaya, he said, “we will contest to the best of our ability and put all our might to take on BJP and NPP. In Meghalaya we are the main opposition party and in Tripura we have built party organisation and contested civic bodies polls.”

He added, “In Assam by December this year we will build organisations across all the booths. You have seen the kind of violence that BJP unleashed in Tripura. Our leaders, workers, and supporters have been targeted. They are coming down heavily on opposition, journalists, we will fight this.”.

He added that TMC is not here to replace any party. “In Assam, we are not to replace any political party but to create a space for us. There is a basic difference between TMC and other parties that when we enter a state we fight it all out. BJP always build a narrative that TMC is from Bengal, that way even BJP is a party from Gujrat, I can vouch now that in Assam TMC won’t run from Bengal, it’s local leadership will run Assam but can Amit Shah and Himanta Sarma vouch that BJP won’t run from Gujarat”