Amit Shah intensifies efforts to put infiltrators’ issue to forefront | India News
New Delhi: Home Ministers from states up to Bihar and Uttarakhand Amit Shah Leading the BJP’s push to keep the issue of infiltrators on the front burner is not only towards the upcoming assembly elections, particularly in West Bengal and Assam where it has a certain resonance, but also towards shaping a national agenda that incorporates a core party plank as its central theme.Shah, who has long championed national security and demographic concerns over the alleged infiltration of infiltrators from Bangladesh, recently stepped up his efforts by camping for three days in the border region of eastern neighboring Bihar and then sending a stern message from Uttarakhand last week.He chose to launch several development initiatives in Haridwar to demonstrate the Modi government’s resolve on the issue. “From Kedarnath to Kanyakumari, wherever infiltrators are present across the country, we will identify and remove every infiltrator from India,” he said, alleging that opposition parties are trying to protect them by looking at their vote banks.The BJP has built its strong support for the Election Commission’s Special Scrutiny of Voter Lists (SIR) – which has drawn protests from the opposition for its alleged intent to benefit the ruling party – around the possibility of identifying and deleting illegal voters, a large proportion of whom are likely to be illegal.More than any other state, the SIR constituency has become a political flashpoint between the Mamata Banerjee government and the BJP in West Bengal, prompting frequent interventions from the Supreme Court.The BJP cited an “abnormal” increase in Muslim voters in various parts of the state bordering Bangladesh to support its claim of the presence of a large number of infiltrators. With the SC going ahead with the SIR while giving some directions, the TMC voiced its opposition but questioned the process and accused the EC of working with the BJP to target voters unsympathetic to the national party.In his speech in Haridwar, the home minister said that more than 10,000 encroachments, often allegedly involving encroachers, have been demolished in the hill state under the BJP government’s move against them. On the other hand, the opposition is shielding them, he claimed in a message meant as much for people outside the state.
