Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday sought a third straight mandate for the BJP in Assam to free the state from ghuspetiyas (infiltrators) while accusing the Congress of having “legalised, formalised and normalised” infiltration.
Addressing the BJP’s “Yuva Shakti Samaroh” in Guwahati hours before the poll schedule for Assam was announced, Shah again raised the issue of infiltration, which he has highlighted during his last four visits to the poll-bound state since August 2025. A BJP-led government is in the state since 2016.
“I want to tell the people of Assam, give us a third mandate. We will identify every infiltrator and remove them not only from Assam but also from the country. Can the Congress remove infiltrators? Infiltrators have entered Dhubri, Barpeta, Darrang, Morigaon, Bongaigaon, Nagaon and Goalpara. We will identify each one and send them back. The government that is formed will do this,” Shah said.
“Only the BJP can free Assam of infiltrators. The Congress had legalised, formalised and normalised infiltration. We pledge before the people of Assam to throw out those who have been normalised,” he said, accusing the Congress of turning the state into a “haven” for infiltrators.
Targeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Shah said: “Rahul Gandhi is opposing SIR. Why? Because the names of infiltrators are being struck off the voters’ list. But Rahul Babu, this is only the beginning. Names will be deleted and each one will have to leave the country. This is the BJP’s promise. Give us one more mandate to free Assam from infiltrators.”
Influx from neighbouring Bangladesh remains a sensitive political issue in the state.
Shah picked up from where he had left during his last visit to Assam on February 21, when he had challenged the Congress to declare in its poll manifesto that it would make Assam free of infiltrators.
Accusing the Congress of being more concerned about the “welfare of their sons and daughters” than about other young people, Shah also attacked the party for ignoring the tea community, an influential electoral group in the state.
He urged the youth to decide whether they wanted to hand over the reins of Assam for the next five years to the Congress, which he said had “destroyed your future”, or to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his vision of a “Vikshit Assam”.
Like Modi on Saturday, Shah also referred to the “shirtless” protest by Youth Congress members in Delhi during the AI Summit, calling it an attempt to defame the country before the world.
Rahul targeted
Earlier, while inaugurating and laying the foundation stones for several healthcare projects in Guwahati, Shah targeted Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, over the AI Summit protest.
He said he wanted to tell Rahul that “while opposing Modi ji and our party, you have ended up opposing India itself”.
Shah said that instead of apologising for the protest, Rahul had described the protesters as his “Babbar Sher”, adding that “no responsible political party” or citizen would support such actions.
The home minister also mocked the Opposition leader for sometimes sitting at the gates of Parliament “having tea and pakoras”.
“He does not seem to know where breakfast should be. Parliament is the supreme institution of our democracy. Even holding a dharna there is not right, but you have gone two steps beyond a dharna – having chai and pakoras! This is defaming India and our democracy in the eyes of the world,” Shah said.
“Oppose us as much as you want, but you do not speak in Parliament; you run away from it. When the world had gathered to witness India’s strength (at the AI summit) and the capability of its youth, you diminished their opportunities there. The people of India will never forgive the Opposition leader,” Shah said.