Neighbouring countries behind illegal immigrant influx in North-East: Army chief Gen. Bipin Rawat

New Delhi: ‘The neighbouring country to the west has systematically plotted the refugee intrusion in the North-Eastern states. The northern neighbour is a party to this and there is a conspiracy to grab the North-Eastern part of India through a proxy war,’ this was the sensational warning issued by Army Chief General Bipin Rawat. General Rawat has created a sensation in the country due to this warning made without directly naming Pakistan and China. The Army Chief has drawn the attention of the country to the growth in the support for the political party, ‘All India United Democratic Front’ (AIUDF) known for its support for the refugees, as a matter of concern. The statement had its political repercussions.

The Army Chief indicated that Pakistan was creating a planned intrusion from the North-East and China was assisting them to execute it. This is a part of a proxy war and the main purpose of this intrusion is to cut the North-Eastern region from India, clarified the Army Chief. The Army Chief drew attention to the rapid growth of the AIUDF in Assam. There are demographic changes in Assam because of the Bangladeshi refugees and there are major alterations in about eight to nine districts. He expressed his candid opinion on this intrusion by saying that it was difficult to control it now. It is very important to find the anti-nationals and there should be efforts in that direction, the Army Chief expressed his expectations.

Some parliamentarians have objected to the Army Chief’s statements. Parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi, expressed his opinion that ‘this is a political statement and the Army Chief should not interfere in politics’. Some political parties have appealed to the Army Chief to keep out of politics. But some from the political circles, have strongly supported the statements of the Army Chief. The Indian army has supported the statements of the Army Chief, clarifying that there is nothing religious or political in the statement.

The army clarified that the Army Chief was describing the situation in North-East and was giving local references. AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal referred to the Army Chief’s statements as unfortunate and said, ‘the accusation that our party is a supporter of the Bangladeshi refugees is baseless’. He said that his party is going to meet the president and the prime minister about the matter.

There have been concerns expressed about the influx of Bangladeshi refugees in the North-Eastern states, even in the past. According to the analysts, this created serious questions about the law and order situation in the North-Eastern states and also is a major threat to the national security. In this situation, a campaign has been started to identify the original residents of Assam and record the illegal immigrants.