Nagaon (Assam), Sept 29: People of Assam would be rendered homeless if infiltration from Bangladesh continued, BJP national secetary Varun Gandhi said today and assured that the party would ensure their security which the Congress failed to do during the 10 years it is in power.
"Infiltration is not a communal problem but a national problem and I fear in ten years' time the local people in Assam will have to leave their homes because of the largescale infiltration from Bangladesh," Gandhi told a rally here.
As it is the duty of the head of the family to protect the home and children, so it is the duty of the government to protect its people and state, he said.
"This infiltration is a serious issue and concerns the national security. Both the Congress and the AGP governments totally failed to solve this issue. If today we do not protect Assam then those aiming to put their `jhanda' (flag) here will go undeterred onwards to Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and other places.
"BJP is committed to tackling the problem," he said adding party president Nitin Gadkari had two messages for Assam - one to respect and honour the people and the other was to form the next government in the state on its own, which it is sure of.
"I have come here with the dream that the next generation will get social justice," the BJP youth icon said.
"You had given a chance to the hand (Congress) and the elephant (Asom Gana Parishad). So now you throw away the hand into the Brahmaputra river and leave the elephant in Kaziranga National Park and vote for the lotus (BJP). We will ensure your security in which the Congress government has failed during the last 10 years," he said.
BJP if voted to power would pay each poor family Rs 25,000 for the marriage of their daughter and educated rural youth Rs 10 lakh interest-free loans. We will also provide free health checkup for the needy."
Varun also criticised the state government for the recurrent flood problem in Assam saying it had done little to mitigate the sufferings of the people. "We promise that we will take it up as a national problem and address the issue."
Earlier in Batadrava, BJP president Nitin Gadkari and national secretary Varun Gandhi visited the birth place of Assam's Vaishnavite saint Sri Sri Sankar Deb. Driving straight from the Guwahati airport, the BJP leaders sought blessings at the Batadrava Satra holy shrine.
They also looked around the shrine built at the birth place of the 16th Century social and religious reformer Sri Sri Sankar Deb who laid the foundation for Assam's literature, culture, dance and music.
Gadkari and Gandhi were accompanied by BJP all India general secretary Vijay Goel, Nagaon MP Rajen Gohain, Guwahati MP Bijoya Chakraborty, state president Ranjit Dutta, besides other party leaders.
They then drove to nearby Nagaon, home town of Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, where a public rally was held. This is the first time the BJP is addressing a mass rally in the state after the AGP severed its ties with the saffron party after the seat sharing arrangement for next year's assembly election failed.
Public meetings have also been organised today by the BJP in various places of Morigaon, Sonitpur, Golaghat and Karbi Anglong districts, party sources said. PTI
