BackBangladesh border will be sealed in two years: Sarbananda Sonowal
Putting an end to infiltration and beefing up security along the Bangladesh border top priority, says Assam CM-to-be Sarbananda Sonowal
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Guwahati: The sealing of the border with Bangladesh will be completed in two years’ time, Assam’s chief minister designate Sarbananda Sonowal said on Saturday.
Sonowal, who steered the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to victory in the recently concluded assembly election, has put the issue of infiltration and border security as his government’s top priority.
The BJP had also made infiltration one of the major issues in the poll campaign. “Union home minister Rajnath Singh had given a two-year time frame for permanent sealing of the border. We will work towards finishing within that time frame the border sealing work, including the riverine border," Sonowal told PTI in an interview.
He was asked how he intended to seal the Indo-Bangladesh border, an issue he spoke about soon after his party’s election victory on Thursday. Home minister Singh had during his on-the-spot visit to the India-Bangladesh border in Karimganj district of southern Assam in January this year said the construction of a barbed wire fence along the Assam stretch would be completed by the end of this year.
“As soon as the border is sealed permanently, the infiltration trend will stop automatically. Plus we will create awareness among the people to prevent infiltration," Sonowal had said.
Asked what method or law he intended to apply to stop infiltration from Bangladesh as he was against the now repealed IMDT Act, Sonowal said, “When the final draft of the (ongoing) updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam is published, it will be clear who are the citizens and infiltrators will get identified. The problem will get solved and action will then be taken against infiltrators as per existing law."
“Like the Wagah border in Punjab with Pakistan, we will also have a similar ceremony in Assam along the Indo-Bangladesh border. We will make it into a tourist spot where people can come and watch the ceremony. This will also stop infiltration", he added. PTI
For detailed coverage of the 2016 assembly elections, go to livemint.com/electionmaps2016
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