New Delhi: The Congress party hit back at PM Narendra Modi, saying the party wants to settle Bangladeshis in Assam and calling the allegations a political ploy ahead of the 2026 assembly elections in the northeastern state.
The country’s oldest party said the PM is dividing voters by raising the issue of outsiders in Assam, just as his party, the BJP, is doing in neighboring West Bengal, where assembly elections are also due next year. Congress insiders said the saffron party had raised the same issue before the assembly elections in Bihar and Jharkhand, but later forgot about it.
They further said the saffron party had ruled Assam for almost 10 years and was in power at the center for 11 years and could have effectively addressed the issue of outsiders instead of raising it just months before the crucial elections. AICC Assam In-charge Secretary Prithviraj Sathe told ETV Bharat, “It’s very unfortunate that a Prime Minister has to resort to lies to target the opposition.
The PM’s allegations on the Bangladeshi issue are nothing more than a political ploy to divide voters. He knows that people are upset with his unpopular government and the next elections are going to be difficult. Hence, such issues.”
The PM also alleged that the Congress is opposing the ongoing Summary Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in West Bengal and the Special Revision (SR) of the voter list in Assam because it wants to grab power, while the saffron party wants to revive local pride.
Sathe said, “They are raising the Bangladeshi issue in West Bengal as well, but they forget that their former leader, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, formed a government with the Muslim League in West Bengal before Partition. Congress actually liberated Bangladesh, or East Pakistan, from West Pakistan in 1971.” They previously raised the issue of outsiders during the Bihar and Jharkhand elections, but did not provide any data on those admitted or expelled.
He said, “The SR in Assam allows anyone to enroll as a voter, even if they have been in the state for a week. What kind of logic is this? And then they make false allegations against the Congress, which has repeatedly stated that all those who came to the state before 1971 should be considered local. We will counter the BJP’s false claims throughout the state.”
The AICC official alleged that the state government spent a significant amount of public money to put up posters of the Prime Minister in the capital, Guwahati, during his visit. The Congress is also upset with the Prime Minister’s allegation on Saturday that the oldest party was ready to hand over Assam to East Pakistan even before 1947. How can any Prime Minister make such an irresponsible statement? Congress governments at the Centre and in the Northeast brought peace to Assam and the entire Northeast region.
With the signing of the Assam Accord, the North-Eastern states became a part of India with confidence, and long-standing ethnic conflicts were resolved. All this was possible due to the Congress party’s work in the national interest. Manipur has been unstable for many years under BJP rule, and tensions between local communities are at their peak.
Bangladesh leaders are showing the North-East as part of Bangladesh in their maps, minorities like Hindus are being targeted there, and infiltration into our country is continuously increasing. AICC in-charge of Assam, Jitendra Singh, told ETV Bharat, “It is unfortunate that this government shows no shame even for such failures.”
He said, “Assam is grappling with many crises, such as poor education and healthcare systems, broken roads, lack of drinking water, and widespread corruption. The people of the state want change, respect, and accountable governance, and this change will come from the people.” Congress MP Manickam Tagore dismissed the Prime Minister’s allegations that Assam was given to Pakistan at the time of Partition as false.
There was no proposal to cede Assam to Pakistan. Assam was a Hindu-majority province and was never assigned to Pakistan under the partition plan. The only question was the Sylhet district of Assam, a Muslim-majority area. In July 1947, a referendum was held during the British Raj.
In that referendum, Sylhet voted to join either East Bengal or East Pakistan. This was not a Congress decision, but a vote taken before independence. Due to the efforts of Assam’s Congress Chief Minister, Gopinath Bordoloi, the Karimganj subdivision was retained in India.
There is no historical evidence that the Congress party conspired to cede Assam to Pakistan. Partition occurred due to the British government’s haste, the demands of the Muslim League, and the fear of civil war, Tagore told ETV Bharat.
