Rajnath Singh: Will seal India-Bangladesh border

Duliajan (Assam), March 30: Blaming the Congress for illegal infiltration into Assam, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said the central government will seal the India-Bangladesh border.

"The Congress was never bothered about the infiltration into Assam. They have destroyed the state for their vote bank politics. We are going to seal the border completely so that no infiltrators can enter Assam," Singh told a public rally at Duliajan in Assam's Dibrugarh district.

"Ever since Bangladesh was created, there has been infiltration in Assam. I want to ask them (Congress), why didn't you seal the borders? Why didn't you stop them from entering into our land?

"The fact remains that they are not even bothered. The Congress never paid any attention to the issue of infiltration since beginning," he said.

"I have visited the India-Bangladesh border areas and held talks with the authorities in Bangladesh. Our government is committed to solve the infiltration problem. We need some time to seal the border completely," he added.

The veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had pledged to curb corruption.

"The whole world knows that there is not a single case of corruption in the centre since the BJP-led took power," he said, adding that the BJP, if it wins the Assam assembly elections, will ensure zero corruption.

"We are not going to tolerate corruption," he said. The elections will be held in the state on April 4 and 11.

Singh also slammed the Congress government in Assam for failing to address the issues of drinking water, road and electricity, and said that 60 percent of villages in the state were yet to get electricity.

"The condition of adivasis and tea garden workers is pathetic in Assam. If the government had implemented the Plantation Labour Act, their lot would have been better," he said.

The minister appealed to all the underground outfits in Assam to shun the path of violence and invited them for talks.

"If there is an issue, we can discuss and solve through dialogue. However, we are not going to tolerate the killing of innocent people," he said.

IANS