J'khand will turn into mini-Bangladesh: Himanta warns of demographic shift

Assam Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party co-in-charge for Jharkhand Assembly elections, Himanta Biswa Sarma lashed out at the Jharkhand government over the issue of infiltration, alleging that it could turn the state into "mini-Bangladesh."

Further claiming that the infiltrators are disrupting Jharkhand's culture and 'Adivasi asmita', Sarma warned that if this trend continues the tribal state could experience a strong demographic shift.

He also stressed on BJP's promise of implementing NRC in the state if it returns to power.

Speaking to ANI on Monday, Himanta Sarma said, "The infiltrators are causing a huge disturbance in Jharkhand's culture and 'Adivasi asmita'. If this continues, Jharkhand will see a demographic change and it will become a mini-Bangladesh. Santhal Pargana is in line to become mini-Bangladesh."

Elaborating on the party's promises for the polls, he said, "I have made three announcements- when we form government, NRC will be implemented and will throw out infiltrators. Second, if an immigrant has lured and married a tribal girl, their children will not be entitled to the benefits of STs. Third, if an immigrant marries a tribal girl, we will ensure that the girl does not contest the elections for the head of the tribe. It gives the immigrant an undue and indirect advantage to rule."

The Assam CM attacked Congress' Jamtara candidate and Jharkhand Minister Irfan Ansari, saying the leader will be 'jailed' for his derogatory remarks against BJP's Sita Soren.

He further said, "We see people like Irfan Ansari and Alamgir Alam influencing the Santhal Pargana region. They are the wealthiest. The government is protecting people like Irfan Ansari. He (Irfan Ansari) will have to go to jail for the foul language he has used against Sita Soren."

CM Himanta also accused the Hemant Soren-led state government of letting "intruders" enter the state and said that the main priority is to throw out infiltrators from Santhal Paragana. He stated that in the Santhal Pargana, the tribal population is decreasing and the population of the Muslim community is increasing.

"I ignite fire against infiltrators. Lord Hanuman had also set fire in Lanka. We have to set fire against infiltrators and make Jharkhand a golden land. In Santhal Pargana, the tribal population is decreasing and the Muslim population is increasing," he said.

"Not every Muslim is an infiltrator but how is the population of Muslims increasing every 5 years? Is a family giving birth to 10-12 children? If families are not giving birth to so many children, then definitely people are coming from outside. This is simple mathematics. We will win the elections but that is not the main priority, it is to throw out infiltrators from Santhal Paragana and justice for women," the Assam CM added.

Earlier, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey alleged that that neither the Congress nor the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha are concerned about the tribals due to vote bank politics.

He also said that Bangladeshi infiltrators are behind the 11 per cent rise in the Muslim population in Santhal Pargana and added that the Bharatiya Janata Party will not sit peacefully until Bangladeshi infiltrators are sent back.

Elections are being held on 81 seats of the Jharkhand assembly in two phases on November 13 and November 20. The counting of votes will be done on November 23.

A total of 2.60 crore voters are eligible to cast votes in Jharkhand and there are 1.31 crore male and 1.29 crore female voters. The state has 11.84 lakh first-time voters and there are 66.84 lakh young voters.