Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday claimed that demographic changes are taking place in border areas due to “illegal immigration” as part of a “deliberate design”, undermining the security of the country, The Times of India reported.
Addressing the inaugural session of the two-day Vibrant Villages Programme workshop in New Delhi, Shah asked collectors of border districts to take action to remove “illegal religious structures”, describing these alleged encroachments as part of the broader “design”, The Indian Express reported.
“Demographic changes in border areas directly impact the security of the country and its borders,” The Times of India quoted Shah as saying. “It should not be assumed that this is happening due to geographical conditions…rather, it is occurring as part of a deliberate design.”
He added that alleged encroachments within at least a 30-km radius of the borders should be removed.
Shah praised the Gujarat government for its efforts in clearing encroachments along the maritime and land borders.
The Union home minister said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech had raised “demographic changes” as a matter of concern.
“The collectors of districts included in the [Vibrant Villages Programme] need to address this issue with seriousness,” Shah added.
During his August 15 address, Modi had warned of a conspiracy to change the country through “illegal infiltration”.
"These ghuspaithiyas [infiltrators] are snatching the bread and butter of our youth,” Modi had said. “These ghuspaithiyas are targeting our country’s daughters and sisters…These ghuspaithiyas are befooling innocent tribals and capturing their forest land. This country will not tolerate this.”
The prime minister had said that his government has decided to start a “high-powered demographic mission” to tackle the situation.
Shah’s statement came amid the Trinamool Congress repeatedly raising concerns about several Bengali-speaking migrant workers being detained in parts of the country on the suspicion of being Bangladeshis.
Since the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, the police in several states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party have been detaining Bengali-speaking persons – mostly Muslims – and asking them to prove that they are Indian citizens.
Several persons have been forced into Bangladesh after they allegedly could not prove their Indian citizenship. In some cases, persons who were mistakenly sent to Bangladesh returned to the country after state authorities in India proved that they were Indians.
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