BJP: Concrete steps to check illegal immigration taken under Modi government

GUWAHATI: Putting on a brave face against opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, BJP on Saturday said concrete steps to check illegal migration from Bangladesh have been taken under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"It was after Modi came to power that the land-swap deal with Bangladesh paved the way for sealing the Indo-Bangla border. Then, updating of the national register of citizens (NRC) picked up momentum under our government. Recently, the Union cabinet approved formation of a high-powered committee to suggest means to implement Clause 6 of the Assam Accord. These are steps that will go a long way in curbing influx, as envisioned in the Assam Accord," BJP spokesperson Jayanta Malla Baruah said here on Saturday.

Clause 6 of Assam Accord, signed in 1985 after six years of anti-foreigner movement in the state, says "Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, as may be appropriate, shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the culture, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people."

Baruah said in 34 years of the signing of the Accord, no government at the Centre and state had shown seriousness to tackle the problem of illegal migration like the NDA governments under Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Modi have done. "In 34 years, nine meetings on the implementation of Assam Accord was held during Vajpayee's time, while during UPA rule six meetings were held. One meeting each were held during IK Gujral and VP Singh's tenures," Baruah said.

Modi on Friday said at a public rally in Silchar that the government is committed to pass the bill which seeks citizenship for non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan soon. This has kicked off a volley of protests across the state. Several organisations, including BJP ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), were already up in arms against the bill since it was placed for the first time in Parliament in 2016.

Prior to Modi's visit, the Union cabinet chaired by PM approved setting up of a high-powered committee to suggest constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards laid down in Clause 6. This decision also faced criticism from several organisations, including the All Assam Students Union (Aasu), as a tactic to divert opposition to the bill.

Asked why the Centre decided on the setting up of the committee when only a few months are left for the present government's term to end, Baruah said the government went step-by-step in finding a solution to the protracted problem of infiltration. "BJP does politics of solution, not politics of keeping issues alive for electoral gains. Many ask what was the necessity of a high-powered committee when a sub-committee was formed in 1998 to look into the implementation of Clause 6. I say there is a huge difference. The high-powered committee will definitely have more power than the sub-committee of 1998," Baruah said.