Amit Shah was in Raipur, a day before PM’s scheduled visit.
Picking up the issues of draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam and the arrest of activists by Maharashtra Police to slam Congress president Rahul Gandhi, BJP president Amit Shah on Friday said that “illegal migrants enter and cause bomb blasts”, and that “40 lakh illegal migrants prima facie were identified” through the NRC. Addressing party workers and booth-level workers in Raipur a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a scheduled rally in Chhattisgarh’s Janjgir Champa district, Shah said, “The NRC happened… the country has crores of illegal migrants. You tell me, should you remove illegal migrants or not from this country? In Assam, our (BJP’s) government was made, at the Centre it was our government, we brought the NRC, (and) 40 lakh illegal migrants prima facie were identified.”
Shah’s remarks come two days after the Supreme Court ordered that the process of receiving claims and objections from people whose names were not included in the final draft NRC for Assam will start from September 25.
Alleging that opposition leaders were worried about human rights of those excluded from the draft NRC, Shah said, “Main unko poochna chahta hoon, aur Rahul Gandhi and company iska jawaab de: Aapko un ghuspathiyon ka manavadhikar dikhta hai. Vo yahan aake bomb dhamaake karte hai. Nirdosh bhai-behen mar jaate hai. Inke bacchon ka manavadhikar nahi hai kya? (I want to ask them, and Rahul Gandhi and company should answer: You can see the human rights of illegal migrants. They come here and carry out blasts. Innocent people get killed. Do their children not have human rights?)”
He said, “In 2019, after the BJP comes to power, we will not let even a single illegal migrant live in this country…. That is the BJP’s promise.”
Referring to the recent arrest of activists, Shah said, “In Maharashtra, the BJP government arrested urban Maoists. And just as they were caught, these people again jumped in. (The opposition said) they have the right to speak. Why did you catch? What of their freedom, they asked. Those who plan the death of the Prime Minister, should they be caught or not? Those who spread divisions between castes, should they be caught or not? Rahulji, who have you come out to save? You support those who want to break this country. You should clarify: are you with the Maoists or not?”
On Thursday, the Supreme Court reserved its order on a petition seeking an independent probe and release of the five activists held for alleged link with Maoists. The court stated that there should be a clear distinction between opposition and a bid to overthrow the government, and that the bench will look at Maharashtra Police’s “material” in the case with a “hawk’s eye”, as liberty cannot be sacrificed at the altar of conjectures.
Shah said that booth workers are the BJP’s strength during elections, and ridiculed Rahul Gandhi of “day dreaming” for his remarks that the Congress will win the coming polls in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
Ever since Narendra Modi has become Prime Minister, Shah said, history shows the states BJP has been victorious in.