Himanta Biswa Sarma addresses infiltration concerns: No Hindu Bangladeshis detected in 5 months

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, during his New Year’s press conference, addressed the concerning rise in infiltration into Assam and India as a whole. However, he ruled out the influx of Hindu Bangladeshis, stating that the government had not detected any in the last five months. 


He also appreciated the Hindu people of Bangladesh for acting maturely.

"Every day, Assam police detect 20-30 infiltrators, and a similar trend is being observed in Tripura," CM Himanta stated, expressing concern over the alarming increase.
 

On the low number of Bangladeshi Hindus entering India, the Assam chief minister said, "I think the numbers are very less and whoever wanted to come would have come 40 years ago but stayed due to affinity towards their land. I think we should not encourage them to come to India."
 

CM Sarma reiterated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is continuously working to provide security and create a security situation in Bangladesh.  
 

He explained that the increase in infiltration is largely due to unrest in neighboring countries, which led to the collapse of the textile industry, leaving many laborers jobless and pushing them to cross into India.
 

He further attributed the influx to textile owners in India who are incentivising illegal immigration. "They are offering a substantial amount of money for importing cheap labor illegally," he added.
 

CM Himanta informed that he raised the matter in the North Eastern Council (NEC) meet which was held recently. He also stated that he spoke to Home Minister Amit Shah regarding the same. He also revealed that he held discussions on the issue with his counterparts in various Northeastern states and the West Bengal government.
 

The chief minister explained that the economy in the neighbouring country collapsed amid unrest leading to more affect on majority community than minority.
 

"So far we have detained and pushed back more than 1000 infiltrators. The Assam government does not arrest them because they easily get bail in Indian jails," he added.  
 

He further urged action against the industrial units incentivising people to come to India in form of cheap labour.