GUWAHATI, July 11 - The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has vehemently condemned the comment made by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Pravin Togadia that security forces should be deployed to deport 70 lakh Muslim migrants from the State to their native country Bangladesh. It has also warned the VHP leader not to repeat such highly provocative comments in the future.
In a statement here today, APCC spokesman Rhituparna Konwar described the remark by the VHP leader as an attempt at making a mockery of the country�s legal systems. Togadia made the comment at a press conference yesterday.
Moreover, the remark is contrary to the provisions of the Assam Accord, which has fixed March 24, 1971 as the deadline for identifying the illegal Bangladeshi migrants. The people of the State are unanimous on the issue of deportation of the post-March 24, 1971 Bangladeshi migrants, irrespective of their religious allegiance.
Togadia seemed to have made this comment only to bail out the beleaguered State Government from its present crisis by diverting the attention of the common people from the burning issues created by the burgeoning unemployment problem, severe flood and erosion problems, devastated road communication network, etc.
The VHP leader had cited an astronomical figure of 70 lakh while talking about the size of the Muslim Bangladeshi migrants staying in the State. But he had not mentioned the source of this figure. He should have submitted all these details concerning the size of the migrant population to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who pledged during the hustings to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls deportation of all Bangla migrants from Assam, said the APCC spokesman.
He demanded that the State Government restrict visits of such leaders to Assam so that they do not get any chance to vitiate the State�s social atmosphere.
AASU warns Togadia: The All Assam Students� Union, too, warned Togadia against indulging in �communal politics�.
In a statement, AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi said the Bangladeshi migrants issue will have to be resolved in keeping with the spirit of the Assam Accord. �According to the Accord, all migrants who entered Assam after 1971, whether Hindus or Muslims, will have to leave,� he said.
Gogoi said time and again, Togadia, during his visits to Assam, have been making �communal� statements. �There is no place for communalism and fundamentalism in Assam. We won�t allow politics in the name of Hindu-Muslim in Assam,� he said.
During his recent visit to the State, Togadia had said that the Centre must give citizenship to Hindu Bengali migrants from Bangladesh. Togadia said that Hindus who have come to India must be given protection.
