Battle between indigenous people and foreigners and not communal clash: BJP
Morung Express News
Dimapur | August 27
The BJP has blamed both Congress-led governments at the Centre and Assam for taking a soft stand on “infiltration” of foreign nationals into the country over the years that has ultimately led to the violence in Bodo territories, where more than 80 persons have been killed so far.
BJP parliamentarians and leaders who arrived Nagaland on a goodwill mission to assuage the fears and apprehensions of the people in the wake of mass exodus of people from the North East states from south Indian cities following reports of attacks and threats on NE people, also categorically said that the violence and its aftermath was not a communal issue.
“This is a battle between indigenous people and foreigners and not communal clash as some people are saying”, BJP leaders told media persons during a press conference Monday afternoon after the BJP NE India goodwill mission team met with civil society and student leaders at Hotel Saramati.
The goodwill team included former senior BJP leader and incharge Overseas Friends of BJP, PB Acharya, Lok Sabha MP from Assam Rajen Gohain, Andhra Pradesh state BJP general secretary Ramachandra Rao, Punjab state BJP general secretary Manjit Singh and member legislative council, Bihar, Harendra Pratap.
Harendra Pratap said after the violence in Bodo areas, there was an “organized campaign” against NE people through social media networks like facebook and SMSs but that the central government failed to handle the situation leading to exodus of NE people from southern states.
Claiming that infiltrators backed by some Pakistan-based terrorist outfits were out to disturb the country and sow seeds of division and hatred among the various communities in the country, the BJP leaders blamed the Congress party for patronising illegal immigrants and turning a blind eye to the grave danger posed to the country by foreigners.
Citing a case, Pratap said that in 2008 when Bangladeshi infiltrators were being deported from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi came to their rescue by defending that they were not foreigners but Assamese people working in Arunachal Pradesh and relocated them to Darrang and other districts. The BJP leader said that due to Gogoi’s vote-bank politics, presently the indigenous Bodo people were being forced to live in relief camps.
BJP leaders said the party has been raising the issue of infiltrators for many years and that the then Prime Minister AB Vajpayee had directed complete fencing of the porous Indo-Bangladesh border. “But even after five years, fencing works were not completed due to non-cooperation of Congress government in Assam”, they added.
The saffron party also said that from 1991 to 2001, while more than 4.65 lakhs people from mainland India left Assam, the Muslim population in the state registered a huge growth. “This shows that there is a conspiracy against Assam”, the BJP said.
“There is a silent war against India. At this time all Indians must unite to save our country. NE Region has a prominent role in our national security arena. We have also taken lessons culturally from NE. The region is also rich in natural and mineral resources. Therefore, from national security point of view, the problem of NE is not NE’s alone but that of the country as a whole and so the whole country is with NE people”, Pratap said.
Senior BJP leader and incharge Overseas Friends of BJP, PB Acharya, said that the Kokrajhar violence was of “historic significance” as unlike incidents of violence in the past, for the first time the country witnessed a “mass exodus” of NE people from different cities in mainland India.
“This has opened up dialogues all over India on the dangers of infiltrators in the North East region” Achraya said.
The BJP leaders said that their mission is to appeal to NE brothers and sisters to return to cities where they were working or studying and that the BJP is ready to provide all types of security and assistance to NE people.
Besides the goodwill team to Nagaland, the BJP has sent two other goodwill teams to the violence-hit Kokrajhar district is Assam and Shillong in Meghalaya.
Earlier, Nagaland state BJP president M Chuba introduced the BJP delegates to the media.
