New Delhi: During his first visit to West Bengal after the BJP lost the majority of Lok Sabha seats it contested in the state, Union home minister Amit Shah claimed that “infiltration from Bangladesh” was disrupting peace in Bengal.
“Bring change to Bengal in 2026 (when Assembly polls are due)…(A BJP-led state government) will end infiltration and ensure peace in the state,” said Shah, reported The Telegraph.
“When there is no opportunity for legal (trans-border) movement of people… illegitimate methods of movement arise, which impacts the peace of the nation.… There can be peace in Bengal only after infiltration stops,” Shah added.
Earlier, in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal, Shah had compared Bangladeshi immigrants to “termites” and had claimed that the BJP will win 35 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
However, despite its polarising narrative, the saffron party could win only 12 seats, lesser than its 2019 tally of 18 seats.
Shah made the comments on Sunday (October 27) at Petrapole, which is a port on the Bangladesh border, where the Union home minister inaugurated a new passenger terminal and a cargo gate.
In September this year, Bangladesh had lodged a protest note with India over comments made by Shah regarding Bangladeshi nationals during a rally in Jharkhand.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.