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Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday appealed to the voters to form the BJP's third consecutive government in Assam, promising to drive out the "infiltrators" from the state.
Addressing an election rally in Hailakandi on the last day for campaigning, Amit Shah asked the voters not to vote for Himanta Biswa Sarma or a legislator, but for the BJP to end illegal immigration in Assam. Driving out illegal immigrants has been the poll plank for the BJP in Assam. Shah said, "On April 9, you all will press the button on the lotus symbol. No one is voting to make someone a legislator or to make Himanta Biswa Sarma the Chief Minister; rather, on April 9, you have to vote for the BJP to handpick and drive out the infiltrators from this entire region." Citing Tripura as an example, he added that the BJP government in the north-eastern state has stopped illegal immigration. He said, "The BJP government is set to be formed for the third time in Assam. When the government was formed for the first time, we put an end to infiltration; no new infiltrators are coming now. They used to come from Tripura and Bengal; the BJP government was formed in Tripura, and that too has stopped. And on the upcoming May 5, along with Assam, a BJP government is set to be formed in Bengal as well, putting an end to infiltration from there too." "The last five years, we have spent detecting them. Now, in the coming five years, we will selectively remove these infiltrators from the country. You have to press the 'lotus' button with such anger that the infiltrators across the nation feel the current," he added. Amit Shah slammed the Congress, claiming that nine districts were "infiltration-ridden" under the party. "Congress made Assam the main gateway for infiltration for years. Nine districts of Assam have become majority infiltration-ridden. I am saying from here today and leaving with this assurance that this is India's land, there is no place for infiltrators here. This is no dharamshala, this is India," the BJP leader said. Invoking the promise of the Uniform Civil Code in Assam, he added, "PM Narendra Modi ended triple talaq, yet the Congress opposed it. Now, we are bringing the Uniform Civil Code, and they are opposing this as well. UCC means no one can have four marriages. On 5 May, form a BJP government in Assam, and we will implement the UCC here." The 126-seat Assam Assembly is set to go for polling on April 9, with counting of votes on May 4. The BJP has appealed to voters with calls against illegal immigration and promises of UCC, like Uttarakhand and Gujarat, as the party eyes a third consecutive term. Demographic change and illegal immigration have been recurring themes in the BJP leaders' speeches since Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged the issue from the Red Fort. The BJP-led NDA faces a contest from the Congress-led alliance in the state. (ANI)
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