BJP wants all infiltrators ejected from India: Amit Shah in Assam - The Hindu

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has resolved to eject the “Congress-encouraged infiltrators” from poll-bound Assam and the country beyond, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday (December 29, 2025).

His statement during an event in central Assam’s Nagaon district was reminiscent of what Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a political rally in West Bengal before he became the Prime Minister in 2014.

He was addressing a gathering after inaugurating the ₹227 crore redeveloped Batadrava Than, the birthplace of 15th-16th century Vaishnavite saint-reformer Srimanta Sankaradeva. “I want to declare from this sacred land the BJP’s goal is to drive out every single infiltrator from across the country, not just from Assam,” Mr. Shah said.

Infiltrator is a term synonymous with “illegal immigrant” or “Bangladeshi” in Assam and the rest of the northeastern region.

Appealing to the people of Assam to give five more years to the BJP to achieve its goal, he said “ghuspethiye” (infiltrators) were a major threat to national security and Assam’s culture. Elections to Assam’s 126-member Assembly are due in less than six months.

Mr. Shah lauded the Assam government led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for evicting “Bangladeshi infiltrators” from 1.29 lakh bighas of land, including the areas around the Batadrava Than and the Kaziranga National Park.

The infiltrators were emboldened to grab land because Congress used them as a vote bank, he said. “Such encouragement affected Assam’s culture and literature,” Mr. Shah added, slamming the Congress for coming up with the now defunct Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act in 1983 to let Bangladeshi culture dominate in the State.

Assam had experienced a “golden period” under the BJP since 2016, Mr. Shah said, comparing Mr. Modi’s visits to the State in the past 11 years to the preceding 10 years when the late Manmohan Singh was in power. “Modi-ji visited Assam 36 times while Manmohan Singh-ji visited seven times, despite representing Assam in the Rajya Sabha, and two of those visits were to cast his vote,” he said.

The Home Minister also underscored the progress Assam has made. “In Delhi, Assam was once known as a State riddled with problems, but industrialists I met in Gujarat on Sunday told me that it is now contributing to the country’s development,” he said.

“Agitations used to rule Assam for years. Youths carried AK-47 rifles, and there was bloodshed. The Centre under Modi-ji signed five peace accords, and 92% of their clauses have been implemented. We will ensure 100% implementation if the BJP is elected to power again,” Mr. Shah said.