GUWAHATI : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on August 29 said Assam cannot be led by leaders who make frequent visits to Pakistan, in an apparent reference to state Congress president Gaurav Gogoi.

Addressing the NDA Panchayat Pratinidhi Sammelan in Guwahati, Shah said the BJP-led alliance will return to power in Assam for a third consecutive term on the strength of development works initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and carried forward by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

“Assam cannot be represented by people who sympathise with infiltrators and encroachers. Assam cannot be led by people who visit Pakistan frequently,” Shah remarked, sharpening his attack on Gogoi. The Assam CM and the BJP have repeatedly targeted the Congress leader over his wife Elizabeth Colburn’s alleged links with Pakistan, with Sarma earlier claiming that she had travelled 19 times between India and Pakistan.

Shah said the BJP government has taken decisive steps against infiltrators and encroachers, freeing over 1.29 lakh acres of land and restoring the sanctity of Vaishnavite monasteries founded by Srimanta Sankardeva and Madhavdeva. He also alleged that infiltrators were marrying local women to gain legitimacy, but the state government had launched special operations to stop such practices.

Blowing the poll bugle ahead of the Assembly elections due in March-April next year, Shah claimed the Congress had been reduced to irrelevance at the grassroots level. “If you want to find Congress in Assam panchayats, you will not find them even with binoculars,” he said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on August 29 took a sharp dig at the Congress over its performance in the recent Assam Panchayat elections, claiming that the party has been “wiped out” from the state’s grassroots political landscape.

Addressing at the NDA Panchayat Pratinidhi Sammelan in Assam, Shah said the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies had secured a resounding victory in the Panchayat polls, while the Congress failed to make its presence felt.

“When the Assam Panchayat election results came, Congress was wiped out. Even if you use binoculars, you won’t be able to find Congress (in the elections). Such is the victory achieved by you all here,” Shah remarked, drawing loud applause from the gathering.

The Home Minister asserted that the results were a reflection of the people’s trust in the leadership of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the development initiatives undertaken by the BJP government in Assam. He said the mandate clearly indicated that the Congress, once a dominant force in the state, had lost ground at the grassroots level.

Shah’s comments come at a time when the BJP is consolidating its position in Assam ahead of future electoral battles, projecting the Panchayat results as an endorsement of its governance model.

Promotional | North East Integration Rally