Congress did nothing on infiltration: Sushma Swaraj

Relations with Bangladesh was never as good as it is now and BJP will take this opportunity to solve the problem of infiltration as it is a matter of national security, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said here on Thursday.

“We have never had such a good relationship with Bangladesh and we will take this opportunity to ensure a permanent solution to the problem of infiltration,” she said in an election meeting here in central Assam.

“The issue of infiltration is a matter of national security and not votebank politics for us. We will ensure a permanent solution of this problem,” she said.

The problem of infiltration has persisted for long in Assam with students launching a long-drawn agitation in which so many lives were lost but there has been no solution as the Congress is not interested in resolving it, she claimed.

“For the Congress, the issue of infiltration is a matter of vote-bank politics, but for us it is a matter of security and it is only BJP who can solve the problem,” the Union minister said.

“We believe all problems can be solved through dialogue and we intend to do that with Bangladesh,” she said.

Bangladesh has been given 100 MW of power from the Palatana power project in Tripura and India is getting Internet connectivity in return, Ms Swaraj added.

Corruption is another issue that Assam faces and the BJP is committed to give an honest, corruption-free and transparent government, she said. “The BJP-led NDA government at the Centre has initiated development works of crores of rupees during the last two years but I can proudly say there is not a single charge of corruption against this government,” she said.

The Centre was working on the issue of river connectivity as it is really sad that while Assam suffers from heavy floods, some other parts of the country face drought, she added.