Ripun Bora debunks Shah's assurance on burning issues

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: APCC (Assam Pradesh Congress Committee) president Ripun Bora on Monday slammed Union Home Minister Amit Shah for his assurance in solving burning problems of floods, infiltration, and tea tribes.

Talking about the illegal immigrant crisis, Bora questioned Shah as to why he has not taken any action against the 19 lakh people whose names were left out of the final NRC (National Register of Citizens).

"When 40 lakh people were excluded from the draft NRC, Shah stated in the Parliament that the Government will deport all these infiltrators. However, why is he not taking any action after 19 lakh people were excluded from the final NRC?" questioned Bora.

The leader also asked why the final NRC is not being officially passed.

Further, he highlighted the illegal-immigrant crisis handled by the BJP-led government and the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government during their respective regimes.

"According to the documents submitted by the Home Ministry in the Parliament, the BJP-led government has deported 1,822 foreigners from all across the country from the year 2014-17. On the other hand, when the UPA government was in power from 2005-13, a total of 82,728 foreigners were deported," Bora pointed out.

The leader claimed that in 2013, the Congress-led government deported 5,236 foreigners from Assam. On the other hand, the affidavit submitted by the State government in the Supreme Court in 2019 stated that in the last four years, the Government had deported only four foreigners.

Talking about the flood crisis, Bora highlighted that according to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) was reduced by 60 per cent across the country from 2014 to 2019.

"The NDRF is under the Home Ministry and for Assam, during the period, not a single penny was allocated. In 2019-20, Rs 264 crore was announced under the NDRF for Assam. The Government announced that it will dredge the Brahmaputra from Sadiya to Dhubri to solve the flood crisis. However, till date, why a single penny has not been allocated for the work?" Bora questioned Shah. Stressing on the claims of the Home Minister to solve the problems of the tea tribes, Bora questioned why the Government has not granted ST status to the community.

"Why Shah has not directed the Registrar General of India to grant ST status to the community. Despite numerous appeals by the tea workers, the Government has failed to increase their daily wage to RS 351," Bora added.

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