NEW DELHI, July 11 � Opposing the Centre�s move to change the visa regime for Bangladeshi nationals, the State BJP today called for status quo, pleading that the current practice of issuing visa with one-year validity should continue.
A six-member delegation of the BJP today met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press for solution of their charter of demands.
The meeting comes close on the heels of a detailed deliberation organised yesterday to exclusively deliberate on the North-East, which was attended by at least 16 Union Ministers. The meeting, held at Union Minister Nitin Gadkari�s residence, was attended by senior RSS leaders.
The meeting, held at the initiative of the RSS, discussed threadbare critical issues concerning the North-East. The discussion that lasted for six hours, saw several Union Ministers make presentations on the North-East, sources said.
Sources further said it was for the first time ever that so many Central Ministers attended a meeting that discussed several of the critical issues like flood and erosion, illegal migration, pending railway and highway projects among others.
Meanwhile, a delegation led by BJP State president Sarbananda Sonowal, that included MPs Rajen Gohain, Bijoya Chakravarty, Kamakhya Tassa, Rameswar Teli and R P Sharma, opposed the move to give multiple-entry visas to Bangladeshi nationals with five-year validity to a select category of citizens of the neighbouring country.
The offer was made by External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj during her visit to Dhaka last month. BJP MP Rajen Gohain said that while opposing the latest offer they have urged the Prime Minister to continue with the current practice of issuing multiple entry visa with one year validity.
Gohain further said that they drew the attention of the Prime Minister to the devastating flood that wreaked havoc in Guwahati. They called for urgent measures to tackle the situation. They also called for preservation of water bodies in the State.
They allege that National Fisheries Board has been solely focusing on Andhra Pradesh and urged the Prime Minister to direct the organisation to give special thrust to development of fish farms in Assam.
�We have further demanded that an AIIMS like Hospital should be set up in Nagaon,� said Gohain.
The MPs also demanded measures for revamp of the Namrup fertilizer and four-lane-highway from Nagaon to Sadiya. They also opposed construction of big dams in upper reaches of Brahmaputra River.
The list of demands also included a call to increase the wage of tea workers, which they alleged was too low in Assam.
