Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 21: The Congress-BJP divide over the issue of illegal immigrants escalated on Sunday with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterating his attack on the Congress accusing it of illegally settling Bangladeshi migrants in Assam and protecting them and the Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge strongly criticising the BJP governments for blaming the opposition to cover up its own failures.
Addressing a gathering in eastern Assam’s Dibrugarh district, Mr Modi also criticised the grand old party for neglecting the land rights of tea plantation workers in the State. Migrant Bengali-speaking Muslims, often given the ‘Bangladeshi’ tag, and Adivasis of central India origin referred to as ‘tea tribes’, are believed to constitute the two largest ‘vote banks’ in Assam, where Assembly elections are due in less than six months. While the Muslims are perceived to be pro-Congress, the Adivasis are said to have gravitated more towards the BJP.
“Congress has no concern for the identity of Assam and its people. They are interested only in power and continuing with their anti-India agenda,” Mr Modi said, after laying the foundation stone for a ₹10,601-crore brownfield ammonia-urea plant in Dibrugarh district’s Namrup. “Congress likes the illegal Bangladeshi migrants, and is protecting them after having settled them. This is the reason why Congress is opposing the ongoing exercise to correct the voters’ list,” he said, carrying on from where he left off on Saturday.
Mr Modi said the bid to consolidate its vote bank is behind the Congress’s agenda to settle Bangladeshi people on Assam’s lands and forests. “You (the indigenous communities) get destroyed (in the process), but they are not bothered. They have to strengthen their vote-bank,” he told the gathering. Asserting that Assam has to be protected from the “poison” of appeasement and vote bank politics, he assured the people that the BJP would always stand with them to protect Assam’s identity and honour.
Illegal immigration from Bangladesh is one of the key public concerns in Assam. In under 12 months, over 400 illegal infiltrators, mostly Bangladeshis and Rohingya, have been sent back across the border after being detained for illegal entry.
“How can he blame the Opposition parties?” Kharge questioned. “This government is there in the Centre, and in Assam also, his own government, that is called double-engine government. If they fail to protect, how can he blame the Opposition parties? Are we ruling there?” Mr Kharge asked. “When he fails, everything he puts on opposition, and I condemn such a statement. They are destroyers, we are not destroyers, and we are not defending anybody. In the interest of the country, whatever good we will do, but not supporting terrorists or infiltrators or others. He is blaming just because he failed to protect, prevent them,” he added.
The Congress, PM Modi said, has inflicted “so many wrongs” to this country that despite “correcting” those for the last 11 years, a lot of work still remained to bring everything on track. “The BJP prioritises every work that enhances Assam’s prestige. But when it does that, Congress gets troubled the most. When our government conferred Bharat Ratna on Bhupen-da (cultural icon Bhupen Hazarika), the Congress openly opposed it,” the Prime Minister said.
He also slammed the Congress party for opposing the semiconductor unit being established at Jagiroad in central Assam’s Morigaon district. “Despite being in power for many decades, the Congress denied land rights to Assam’s tea garden community. The BJP government has given them land rights, as well as a dignified life. As a chaiwalla, if I don’t do it, who will?” the Prime Minister said.
Mr Modi also laid the foundation stone of a ₹10,601-crore brownfield ammonia-urea plant in Dibrugarh district. The ammonia-urea plant to be set up by the Assam Valley Fertilizer and Chemical Company Limited will have an annual output of 12.7 lakh metric tonnes. The project is scheduled for commissioning in 2030.
In July this year, AVFCCL was incorporated at Namrup in Dibrugarh district. A new plant within the existing premises of the Brahmaputra Valley Fertiliser Corp Ltd (BVFCL) was approved by the Union Cabinet in March this year. AVFCCL is a joint venture among the Assam Government, Oil India, National Fertilisers Ltd (NFL), Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Ltd (HURL), and BVFCL.
Modi arrived in Assam on Saturday on a two-day visit, during which he unveiled multiple projects worth ₹15,600 crore, months before the Assembly polls next year. “The AVFCCL Namrup ammonia-urea project is being established as a modern, energy-efficient, world-class fertiliser complex with an annual urea production capacity of 12.7 lakh metric tonnes, at an estimated investment of ₹10,601 crore,” the company said in a statement.
It said this upcoming facility will play a pivotal role in meeting the fertiliser requirement of Assam, the northeast region, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh. “Beyond fertiliser security, the project is expected to act as a major catalyst for industrial growth, employment generation and regional economic development, creating hundreds of direct jobs and thousands of indirect employment opportunities,” AVFCCL said.
The company also asserted that the foundation stone laying ceremony marked the revival of Namrup’s legacy as the cradle of India’s gas-based fertiliser industry, and will herald a new chapter of growth, sustainability and agricultural prosperity for the entire region.
The State-run BVFCL is the only urea-making facility in eastern India. The facility started production in January 1969, as a part of the Hindustan Fertiliser Corp Ltd (HFCL). BVFCL was formed in April 2002 after hiving off the Namrup Unit of HFCL. It is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, with 100% shareholding by the Government of India.
It is touted to be the first factory of its kind in India to use associated natural gas as a basic raw material for producing nitrogenous fertiliser. The company has played a crucial role in the development of the north-eastern region and in providing farmers with urea fertiliser, which is produced from cheap and locally available domestic natural gas, officials said.
As per the official website of the Department of Fertilisers, the company is now producing neem-coated urea and two organic fertilisers – liquid bio fertiliser and vermi compost under the brand name of ‘Mukta’. BVFCL has two operable ammonia urea units at Namrup, with small capacities, which were established in 1976 and 1987.
