Amit Shah Kicks Off Poll Campaign at Vibrant Village Launch in Cachar

A CORRESPONDENT

SILCHAR: Blowing the poll bugle from Natanur, a nondescript hamlet at the Indo-Bangla border in Katigorah, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday launched the Vibrant Village Programme 2.0 with a clarion call for making Assam 'infiltrator free' under the leadership of Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma. Addressing a huge rally, Shah made a scathing attack on the Congress, alleging that during its 60-year regime, the entire Northeast was treated as a colony.

"The bordering villages were treated as the last villages of the country during the Congress rule, as there were no roads, electricity, education, or basic infrastructure." Maintaining this, Shah said that for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the bordering villages were not the last but the first villages of the country. "If our bordering villages are strong, the entire nation will be strengthened and fortified," explaining this, Shah said that the previous Congress governments left the bordering villages to the mercy of the illegal infiltrators, and that neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan continued to patronize infiltration with the sole motive of changing the demography.

Shah said, "Assam was the worst victim of Bangladeshi infiltrators, as the population pattern came under serious threat and the Assamese were being reduced to a minority in their own homeland." He added that after the BJP government came to power in Assam, in the first five years, infiltration was restricted and that during the present government of Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, the infiltrators had been evicted with a firm hand. "Elect us for the next five years, and the BJP government will throw out each and every Bangladeshi infiltrator from Assam," Shah promised.

Elaborating on the Vibrant Villages Programme 2.0, Shah said that this project would cover 1954 bordering villages spread over 15 states and two Union Territories. In Assam, 140 villages in 9 districts, including 65 at the Bangladesh border, would be covered. He said that the purposes of this multifaceted programme included overall development of the bordering districts as well as the livelihood of locals and controlling interstate crime, as well as bringing the people to the national mainstream so that they could be trained as an auxiliary force to assist the BSF.

Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the Vibrant Village Programme II intended to develop border villages, which were India's 'First Villages', with better infrastructure at a total outlay of over Rs 6,839 crore.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that the programme will cover 11 villages in Cachar district, 21 in Sribhumi district, 28 in Dhubri district, and 5 in South Salmara-Mankachar district along the Indo-Bangladesh border. Similarly, along the Indo-Bhutan border, the programme will include six villages in Kokrajhar district, five in Chirang district, 12 in Baksa district, seven in Tamulpur district, and 45 in Udalguri district.

The Chief Minister said that the migration of Hindu people from border villages to urban areas has allowed illegal infiltrators to occupy those lands, adding, "Our land must remain in the hands of our people."

He, therefore, urged upon the people not to sell land to illegal infiltrators and asked them to take a pledge in this regard. Referring to recent eviction drives in Hailakandi and Sribhumi, he said that as a result of the drive, 1.5 lakh bighas of land in the state have been freed. He also said that the eviction drives will continue unabated in the coming days, as 5 lakh bighas of land will be freed after eviction.

The Chief Minister on the occasion described the visit of the Union Home Minister to a village like Nathanpur as a historic moment. He further stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the Barak Valley on 14 March with special announcements.

Also Read: Barpeta: Armed Gang Loots Jewellery Worth Rs 12 Crore in Daylight Heist