"Soft Stance On Rohingya": Himanta Sarma Rips Into Bengal, Jharkhand

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma named Jharkhand and Bengal governments as the weak spots in the wall to stop Rohingya infiltration from Bangladesh. Both states, he said, have taken a soft stand against the infiltration, that is posing  threat to demography. In this context, he also mentioned Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's comment that Bengal will "keep its doors open" -- said in the context of the ongoing students' protest in Bangladesh. "The Central government should pick up the issue of Rohingya with the West Bengal government," he said.

Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, Mr Sarma said, "Rohingya are utilising the India-Bangladesh border situation because large areas are porous. In Assam, we are still guarding, but Assam is only a part of the border".

The Chief Minister cited a couple of instances of crackdown on illegal immigrants -- one in Tripura where a large number of Rohingya have been arrested, and one in Assam, where the police busted a network last year..

"Assam is no longer a safe haven for illegal immigrants because after the BJP came into power, we have controlled the situation. But Bengal and Jharkhand are silent on the serious issue... (But elsewhere) Because of appeasement politics, we are not able to control it," he said.

With unimpeded infiltration, the demography is already changing, he argued. This, he said, will become clear during census and will come as shocking news.

"You don't have to wait for census. Just see the 2024 voter list and 2019 voter list -- the change in demography is visible... Soft policy towards Rohingya infiltration doesn't work. If we do not stop it, the entire country will face demographic invasion," he added.