Refugee issue to be solved if BJP comes to power: Rajnath

Agartala, Nov 15 (UNI) BJP Chief Rajnath Singh today said the Mizoram Bru (Reang tribal) refugees, lodged in six camps in North Tripura for more than a decade, would be sent back home if the party comes to power at the Centre.

Addressing a rally in the refugee-dominated remote Gachirampara school along the Tripura-Mizoram border, 100 Km from here, Mr Singh said, ''Once the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) comes to power after the parliamentary polls the Bru issue will get priority.'' Betting big on the party's prospect in the poll-bound states, he said the BJP would open an account in Mizoram this time, while Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarth would remain with the party.

Criticising the UPA government, Mr Singh stated that the Centre was ignoring the core issues of the northeastern states, including the Bru repatriation from camps in Tripura, setting up of an Autonomous District Council for Reang tribes in Mizoram and other vital issues of the backward tribals.

''The BJP is committed to sorting out the major problems, including ethnic issues and insurgency in the northeast,'' Mr Singh said.

He alleged that the Congress, along with some other regional parties and the Left Front in the region, had failed to understand the crucial issues and solve it.

Mr Singh, along with a few senior party leaders, arrived in the refugee camps by a chartered helicopter and held a meeting with the Bru refugee leaders during his one hour visit.

About 35,000 Reangs are living at Kanchanpur sub-division in North Tripura since 1997 following the ethnic clash in Mamit district of Western Mizoram.

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