 Early Times Report
Jammu, May 28: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday asserted that the BJP-led Central Government is committed to identifying and expelling every infiltrator from the country to safeguard national security and prevent demographic change.
Addressing a public gathering in Gandhinagar, the Union Home Minister said the government was determined to take strict action against illegal infiltration and had already initiated steps to study demographic changes occurring in different parts of the country.
Shah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has constituted a high-level committee to examine demographic changes, the reasons behind them, and the measures required to prevent illegal infiltration and its impact.
“The committee will conduct a comprehensive study of artificial demographic changes taking place across the country and suggest measures to address them. If required, it will also recommend legal provisions to deal with the issue,” Shah said. He added that the panel would submit its report within a year and the government would act firmly on its recommendations.
Referring to developments in West Bengal, Shah said the BJP had promised during the Assembly elections that border fencing and anti-infiltration infrastructure would be strengthened once the party formed the government in the state.
He claimed that border security infrastructure remains a top priority for the Centre and said large tracts of land had already been handed over to the Border Security Force for fencing and strategic projects.
According to Shah, 600 hectares of land were handed over to the BSF within days of the formation of the government in West Bengal, while another 121 hectares were provided for the strategically important Chicken’s Neck Corridor project.
The Union Home Minister alleged that infiltration was rampant during the tenure of the previous government in Bengal, but claimed the situation had changed significantly now. He also stated that detention centres had been established in the state to deal with illegal infiltrators.
Shah said the government wants those who entered India illegally to voluntarily return to their native countries. He added that such individuals would not face legal harassment if they chose to leave on their own before the identification process begins.
Expressing confidence in the Centre’s development agenda, Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, rapid development was taking place across the country. He added that the development model initiated in Gujarat over the past 25 years had transformed the state and expressed hope that Gandhinagar would emerge as the most developed parliamentary constituency in the country. |