Amit Shah Ramps Up Push on Infiltrators’ Issue
Home Minister underscores removal of illegal migrants and backs Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in poll bound states.
New Delhi: Home Minister Amit Shah is leading the BJP’s intensified campaign to bring the issue of infiltrators to the forefront, aiming to influence upcoming assembly elections in states like West Bengal and Assam, while also shaping the national political discourse.
Shah, who has consistently highlighted national security and demographic concerns linked to alleged cross border infiltration from Bangladesh, recently spent three days in Bihar’s Seemanchal region, which borders the eastern neighbour. He then delivered a strong message from Uttarakhand, underscoring the government’s commitment to addressing the issue.
At a launch of several development projects in Haridwar, he declared, “From Kedarnath to Kanyakumari, wherever infiltrators are present, we will identify and remove every illegal entrant from India,” accusing opposition parties of protecting them to safeguard their vote banks.
The BJP has framed its support for the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls around its potential to identify and remove illegal voters, many of whom are believed to be infiltrators. This move has triggered protests from opposition parties, who accuse the process of favouring the ruling party.
SIR has become a flashpoint in West Bengal, with the ruling Trinamool Congress challenging the process, even as the Supreme Court allowed its continuation with certain directives. BJP points to an “unnatural” increase in Muslim voters in border districts as evidence of infiltration, while TMC contends that the EC is biased towards the ruling party.
In his Haridwar address, Shah highlighted that over 10,000 encroachments often allegedly linked to infiltrators have been demolished under the BJP led Uttarakhand government. He framed this as part of a broader commitment to national security, contrasting it with the opposition, whom he accused of shielding illegal entrants.
The home minister’s interventions signal a strategic push by the BJP to keep the issue of infiltrators central to its electoral and policy agenda in both regional and national contexts.
