Guwahati, Dec 29: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday urged the people of Assam to give the BJP another five-year mandate, asserting that his party would “drive out illegal infiltrators from Assam and the rest of the country” while reclaiming land allegedly encroached upon by them.
Shah made the remarks while inaugurating the ₹227-crore redevelopment project of Batadrava Than in Nagaon district—the birthplace of 15th-century Vaishnavite saint Srimanta Sankardeva—which has been developed as a major spiritual and cultural centre.
The union minister arrived at Borduwa by helicopter from Guwahati and was accorded a traditional welcome marked by Assamese cultural performances, including Gayan-Bayan and Diha Naam. Shah was seen applauding the devotional performances at the historic site.
Addressing a large gathering, Shah claimed that the birthplace of Sankardeva had earlier been under encroachment. “Was it justified that the birthplace of such a great saint was encroached upon by illegal infiltrators? Today, that land has been freed and developed into a project that will be world famous,” he said. He added that over one lakh bighas of land across Assam had been cleared of encroachment.
Taking aim at the Congress, Shah alleged that previous governments had allowed illegal settlers to remain for electoral gains. “Those who see infiltrators as a vote bank can never take strong action,” he said, referring to the now-scrapped IMDT Act.
“Give the BJP another five years in Assam, and we will not only remove illegal infiltrators from this state but from the entire country. Every piece of land encroached by them will be freed,” Shah asserted.
Highlighting development under BJP rule, Shah said Assam had witnessed unprecedented growth over the past decade. “Earlier, Assam was known for bomb blasts; today it resonates with devotion and development. Assam has become the growth engine of the entire Northeast,” he said, crediting leadership under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, and the current government led by Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Shah also recalled the role of Gopinath Bordoloi, saying that without his efforts, the Northeast might not have remained part of India.
Earlier, Chief Minister Sarma said the inauguration of the Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva Abirbhav Kshetra marked the culmination of a four-year effort to restore Batadrava as a vibrant spiritual and cultural hub. “The collective will of the people of Assam has scripted history today,” he said.
Shah’s remarks come amid heightened political focus on issues of migration, land rights, and cultural identity in Assam ahead of upcoming electoral contests.
The Union Home Minister will return to Guwahati. where he will pay homage to martyrs of the Assam movement against illegal infiltrators at the newly constructed ‘Swahid Smarak Kshetra’.
He will also inaugurate a Rs 111-crore new building of the Guwahati Police Commissionerate and the Rs 189-crore integrated command and control system (ICCS) to bolster the city’s security.
The ICCS will monitor over 2,000 CCTVs in Guwahati to bolster security and emergency response systems in the state, Sarma said.
Shah will also inaugurate the Rs 291-crore Jyoti Bishnu Cultural Complex, an auditorium with a 5,000-seating capacity in Guwahati.
