Lakhimpur : Asserting that China couldn’t encroach a “single inch” of land under the Narendra Modi government, Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday claimed that people will never forget how former PM Jawaharlal Nehru said “bye-bye” to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh during the 1962 Chinese aggression.
Addressing an election rally in Lakhimpur, he said the BJP-led government at the Centre secured the country’s border with Bangladesh and stopped infiltration.
“During the Chinese aggression of 1962, Nehru had said ‘bye-bye’ to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. People of these states can never forget that,” Shah said.
“But now, China could not encroach even a single inch of our land. Even in Doklam, we pushed them back,” he added.
He said that Assam’s border with Bangladesh was earlier “open for infiltration”.
“Then the Modi government came at the Centre, and the Himanta Biswa Sarma’s government here. Now, we can say that infiltration has stopped,” Shah said.
He alleged that the previous Congress government in Assam did injustice to the state, and scores of youths were killed in different violent movements and insurgency-related incidents.
“Under the Modi government in the last 10 years, peace accords were signed and 9,000 youths surrendered,” he said.
Shah noted that the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act has been withdrawn from 80 per cent of areas of the state.
“They signed the (Assam) Accord but did not fulfil the clauses. We signed the Bodo Accord and within two years, all clauses were fulfilled,” he said.
Hitting out at the Congress manifesto, Shah claimed that it favoured the Muslim personal law.
“Himanta Biswa Sarma has stopped child marriages. In Uttarakhand, there is the UCC,” he said, drawing a comparison.
Shah said the development of the Northeast is centre to the overall growth of the nation, and urged the people to vote for the NDA candidates in all the seats of the region.
“There are two alternatives before you — to vote for Rahul Gandhi and INDI Alliance, or vote for the Modi-led BJP,” he said, urging people to ensure a third term for the BJP-led government at the Centre.