When Bengal votes out Mamata Banerjee, infiltration problem will be solved: Amit Shah

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said when the people of West Bengal vote out Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and install a BJP government in the state, the issue of illegal immigration will be solved.

Speaking at the 'News18 Rising Bharat Summit', Shah made clear that the coming Bihar assembly elections will be fought under the leadership of JD(U) leader and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

When asked about the incidents of illegal infiltration in view of the current political situation in Bangladesh, he said he had a simple suggestion for the people of West Bengal.

"If the people of Bengal vote out Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's government and bring in a BJP government, the issue will be addressed and the crime (along the Indo-Bangla border) will stop," he said.

The home minister said Banerjee kept telling everyone that the BSF (which comes under the central government) guards the international border and they should be held responsible.

"My question to her is who made the voter ID cards and Aadhaar (cards) of such infiltrators. All these voter cards are made in the district of North 24 Paraganas," he said.

The INDI Alliance sees a vote bank in them (infiltrators), he said.

Shah claimed the NDA will form the government in Bihar after the assembly elections due to be held later this year with the largest ever numbers.

"Seat sharing will be discussed by our party and the NDA leaders present in Bihar," he said.

Asked who would be the chief minister of Bihar if the NDA wins, Shah said, "Nitish ji is the chief minister and we are fighting the elections under the leadership of Nitish ji." Shah strongly defended the enactment of the new Waqf Act, saying it will be beneficial for the common Muslims and accused the opposition Congress of spreading false propaganda about the law.

Citing the opposition faced by the government when the Citizenship (Amendment) Act was enacted in 2020, the minister said at that time, the Congress said that the law would lead to the cancellation of citizenship of Muslims.

"I am publicly challenging Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to inform the country if even one Muslim lost citizenship after the CAA was brought as was claimed by the opposition parties when the Act was being made," he said.

They are responsible for the violence that took place after the law came into existence, he said.

Talking about the issue of delimitation vis-a-vis Tamil Nadu, Shah said these issues were being raked up by the state government to "cover up" its "rampant" corruption.

Any south India-based voter or political party should not worry about delimitation as the exercise will be carried out on pro-rata basis.

He also chided the political dispensation of Tamil Nadu, saying they do not want elections to take place on real issues.

There has been no decision by the central government on delimitation nor any step has been taken for carrying out the exercise, he said.

"You are making noise as you need an issue for elections," he added.

Asked about the language politics, Shah said he was not a Hindi-speaking person but a Gujarati.

"I speak about Indian languages. If the country has to find a link with its culture and roots, it will have to link with its language. Mother tongue provides you the platform to use logic and reasoning," he said.

Talking about tariff wars after US President Donald Trump declared reciprocal tariffs, Shah said it was a "complex" issue and it was "too early" to comment on it.

Asked about bringing permanent peace in Manipur, Shah said talks were continuing between the two communities (Meities and Kukis) and two-three more such sessions could be held.

Asked about the PoK strategy of his government, the home minister said there is no doubt that "PoK is ours" and "that is our belief and just not a claim".

On the issue of cash being allegedly recovered from the house of a Delhi High Court judge, Shah said the Supreme Court has constituted a committee to look into it.

He welcomed the apex court's decision and said that like everyone else, he is also waiting for the outcome.