Organiser Weekly Bureau Chief(North East) Dibya Kamal Bordoloi speaks to Senior BJP leader and Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita, ahead of the Assam Assembly elections on April 9. In this candid exchange, the minister details the NDA government’s decisive actions against illegal infiltration from Bangladesh and the BJP’s bet on development, demographic security, and a prosperous future for Assam’s natives. Excerpts:
Congress supporters shouted “We will create Bangladesh in Assam” at their election rally. Your reaction?
MoS External Affairs Pabitra Margherita: Every Assamese knows this playbook all too well. At Barak Valley’s Congress office, they sang Bangladesh’s national anthem—Gaurav Gogoi himself later defended it. Namaz in Congress offices? It’s a routine affair. Their leaders openly vow to turn Upper Assam into another Dhubri—a Miya-majority district with almost 90 per cent Muslim population—right in front of Gogoi and they didn’t oppose it. Now, in his rally, the crowd chants they’ll make Assam Bangladesh and he stays silent. Assam’s people are watching. They’ll deliver their verdict on April 9th.
How will the issue of illegal infiltration influence this election?
In the last five years, the NDA government has made significant strides in curbing illegal infiltration from Bangladesh. Our highly alert security forces, including the Assam police, have been proactive along the borders, regularly detecting and detaining infiltrators attempting to enter Indian territory before firmly pushing them back. This has drastically reduced the influx that has long threatened Assam’s demographic balance.
Simultaneously, within the state, we’ve launched aggressive drives to dismantle illegal encroachments on forest reserves, government lands, Satras and other sacred religious sites. Over 1.5 lakh bighas of prime land have already been reclaimed and restored. Our Chief Minister has assured that these eviction operations will intensify under the next NDA government. In the coming five years, this will secure a large portion of land rightfully belonging to Assam’s indigenous communities, ensuring the cultural and economic future of our coming generations remains protected.
BJP is banking on development this time. What else do you see as key issues?
Under BJP-NDA rule, Assam has witnessed unprecedented, transformative development in every domain over the past decade. Take infrastructure: we’re constructing 14 kilometres of roads daily—a staggering leap from earlier eras. The mighty Brahmaputra, once spanned by just 3 bridges, will soon boast 14. Imagine this: India’s first underwater road-rail tunnel, linking north and south banks, is going to be right here in Assam. From power projects to railways, airports and flood control, these visible changes have reshaped lives, boosted connectivity, and fueled prosperity. Voters recognise real progress—they’ll affirm it at the polls.
Apart from infrastructure, what are the achievements that you are counting on?
See, Assam now has AIIMS, the first in the Northeast region; IIM has started its first batch; 24 Medical Colleges have been established, and a few others are in the pipeline in a small state like Assam. So in health, education, rail, road, air connectivity, digital infrastructure and every sector, we are marching ahead under the leadership of PM Modi and Himanta Biswa Sarma in the state.
After decades, Assam elections are being conducted in a single phase. Does your government take credit for it?
Election is a matter of the ECI. But of course, the better law and order in the state has definitely influenced the ECI. Earlier, Assam was in the headlines for blasts, insurgency and communal/ethnic clashes. But it has turned out to be one of the most peaceful states in the last 10 years of the BJP rule. It’s on record, there is not a single civilian casualty due to insurgency in the last three years. Not only humans, but wildlife is also safe under the BJP regime. Earlier, every week, there was one horned rhino poaching in the Congress regime, and now it has been completely stopped. This is a result of uncompromising leadership and political will. Over 10,000 youth returned to the mainstream, quitting insurgency. This was possible only because of a strong political will which wanted to create a developed Assam for its people. The insurgency issue was brought to life by the Congress party only for their political gain.
If you were asked to sum up the achievements of the BJP in the last 10/12 years in a few lines, how would you outline it?
From insurgency to industrialisation, from encounters to tourism, from guns to semiconductors, Assam has seen a paradigm shift. As the PM always says, the Northeast is the Asthalakshmi of development; it’s going to be a reality in the coming years.
Assam is always out of the boundaries of caste base politics, but Congress and its allies are trying to bring it to election politics here. What is your take on it?
Congress has cornered it to certain pockets of Bangladeshi-origin Muslim-majority seats in Assam. But the rest of Assam BJP is gaining support of all the indigenous people irrespective of caste, community and religion. In desperation, the Congress party is trying to pollute the socio-cultural fabric of the state by inducing caste politics. But I am confident that the people of Assam have rejected their propaganda to divide the society in terms of caste politics.
Congress leaders have vowed to reinstate the evicted Bangladeshi-origin encroachers if they come to power. How do you react to that?
It is a regular practice of the Miya population to encroach on the forest, government land or land belonging to Satras and our religious institutions. Certain clauses may grant them Indian citizenship, but the Miya who are not assimilated to the culture and language of Assam will remain Bangladeshi, regardless of their entry in India, whether prior to 1951 or 1971, as per the Assam Accord. It is a century-old political practice of the Congress party to always appease its vote bank, which happens to be the Miya. So it will remain the same as the party only believes in appeasement politics of the minority.
Rahul Gandhi has failed measurably in elections, and do you think the same fate awaits Gaurav Gogoi in Assam?
I don’t want to comment on Gaurav Gogoi as he is a blue-blooded Congress prince. But these people born with a golden spoon in their mouth don’t understand the pulse of the common people. They can’t feel for the poor and always see them as a vote to form a government. So they miss the emotion of people in the grassroots. The royalty in their blood doesn’t allow them to mix with common people, and obviously, that doesn’t win elections.
Modi factor is always there in Assam. Now added to that is the Mama (popular name of CM Himanta Biswa Sarma amongst people) factor. How are these two turning the election around BJP and NDA?
Under the guidance and handholding of PM Narendra Modi, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma is turning the state into a development road. People will be surprised to see that, be it Panchayat or Municipality elections, or Lok Sabha or Assembly elections in Assam, it is always the “Akou Abar Modi Sarkar” (Once again Modi government) slogan that works for the BJP. The popularity of CM Sarma is touching the sky. So it’s definitely a big factor for us. Moreover, we have a strong, well-organised party structure. Out of 2.5 crores voters, we have 65 lakhs of BJP karyakartas. This is an unmatched organisational strength which always does the work for us.
