Congress considers Bangladeshi infiltrators as vote bank, claims Amit Shah
Borduwa (Assam) (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday accused the Congress of considering Bangladeshi infiltrators, who threatened Assam's people, their culture, land and identity, as its vote bank.
Addressing a public rally here, Shah said the Centre would identify all illegal immigrants from the neighbouring country, not only from Assam but also from the rest of India.
He also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not only "ensured the protection of the cultural identity of the Assamese people but also focused on all-around development of the state".
The home minister inaugurated the Rs 227 crore redevelopment project of the Batadrava Than, the birthplace of Vaishnavite saint Srimanta Sankardeva, here in Nagaon district.
Shah said it was a historic occasion that the birthplace of Srimanta Sankardeva has been "freed from encroachment".
"The state government, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, has freed over 1 lakh bighas of land from Bangladeshi infiltrators," he said.
"Give the BJP another five years to ensure infiltrator-free Assam," he told the people at the rally.
''We will identify all Bangladeshi infiltrators not only from Assam but also from the rest of India'', he said.
Sankardeva had given the call of 'Ek Bharat', which the PM is now following, Shah added.
''The Prime Minister has taken steps to ensure peace and development in Assam, which is not only on paper but a reality," he said.
The BJP government during the last 11 years have signed peace accords with various militant outfits in the state and 92 per cent of the clauses of these agreements have been fulfilled, he added.
VIDEO | Nagaon: Addressing a public rally, Union Home Minister Amit Shah (@AmitShah) says, "Congress treated infiltrators - who threatened the people, culture and identity of Assam - as its vote bank."#AmitShah #Assam #Congress
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 29, 2025
(Full VIDEO available on PTI Videos –… pic.twitter.com/n5FSa7mWeY
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Mathura boat capsize tragedy: Death toll climbs to 13
Mathura (UP)(PTI): With the recovery of two more bodies on Sunday, the death toll in the boat capsize incident in the Yamuna river in Mathura has climbed to 13, officials said on Sunday.
Search for three more missing persons is underway.
Superintendent of Police (Rural) Suresh Chandra Rawat said renewed search efforts led to the recovery of the body of a college student, identified as Dinki Bansal, near Devraha Baba Ghat and that of a man identified as Rishabh Sharma approximately 3 km away from the accident site.
The incident occurred on Friday afternoon when a boat carrying over two dozen tourists, primarily from Punjab, hit a floating drum of a pontoon bridge and capsized near Kesi Ghat in Vrindavan.
Most of the victims were from Jagraon and Dugri areas of Ludhiana district.
Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) along with the district administration and local police were actively engaged in the search for the missing pilgrims.
However, strong currents of the Yamuna river and the significant depth of the water at the ghats are proving a hindrance.
Circle Officer (Mant) Sandeep Singh said the Yamuna river stretch extending from Keshi Ghat to Gokul Barrage has been divided into seven sectors.
The search for the missing individuals will now be conducted within this specific 20-square-km zone. A Station House Officer (SHO) has been designated as the in-charge for each sector.
Acting on the orders of the DIG (Agra Range), seven SHOs will oversee operations across the seven sectors of river Yamuna.
Giving details about the operation, Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Pankaj Kumar Verma, citing NDRF officials, on Saturday had said although the search for the missing persons is currently focused within a 14-km radius from the spot where the boat had capsized, there is a possibility that they may have been swept much further downstream.
SHO of Vrindavan police station Sanjay Pandey said boat operator Pappu was arrested late on Friday night.
He is accused of failing to provide life jackets to passengers before allowing them to board the boat, and operating the boat at high speed. This resulted in the boat losing control and colliding with a pontoon bridge's drum, which led to the accident, officials said.
Police have registered a case and also arrested the contractor, Narayan Sharma, responsible for the repair work on the pontoon bridge.
Rawat said that on Friday evening, police registered a case under section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the boatman Pappu (alias Dauji) and Sharma, and subsequently arrested them.
According to the case details, Pappu's boat did not have any safety equipment or provisions whatsoever.
Moreover, despite repeated pleas from pilgrims, Pappu operated the boat at high speed. By the time he realised the danger upon approaching the pontoons of the bridge, it was already too late.
Consequently, after colliding with a pontoon drum, the boat lost control and capsized. It has also come to light that he is among those operators who have not obtained the requisite license to operate a boat.
Sharma was carrying out the work of dismantling and reassembling the pontoon bridge without providing any prior notification.
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