Friday, July 15 2005 15:20 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: : Welcoming the Supreme Court striking down the Illegal Migrants Determination by Tribunal (IMDT) Act, the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) today (July 15, 2005) demanded that the Centre take steps in detecting illegal migrants and deporting them after deleting their names from documents like voters list and ration card.

"Any delay in tackling this dangerous problem and any diversionary tactics will be considered anti-national. If needed, let the Government convene an all party meeting to agree on modalities to follow up on the Supreme Court judgment. We should lose no time," BJP senior Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters here.

The Centre's decision to set up a Group of Ministers to study the judgment was "shocking" and "is a delaying and diversionary tactics. This is being done to buy time in view of the coming assembly polls in Assam and to pursue their vote bank politics so Congress can get benefit," he said.

The Country in general and the Assam people in particular "are immensely happy that the anti-national law has been struck down. But, it is unfortunate that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government is going against the mood of The Nation," he said.

Venkaiah Naidu said even after the apex court struck down as unconstitutional the Act, the Congress still wanted to pursue its vote bank politics and is "in the process of converting this larger internal security issue as a minority and majority issue."

Stating that BJP's executive committee meeting here from July 21, would certainly focus on the IMDT issue, Venkaiah Naidu said past Governors of Assam and West Bengal and two task forces on internal security and border management had clearly stated in their reports that illegal immigration "posed a grave threat to the country's security."

"More than 1.2 crore Bangladeshis residing in India"

He said even the Home Ministry had said there were more than 1.2 crore Bangladeshis residing in India.

The then Governors, in their confidential reports to the President, had stated that a "demographic invasion" was taking place. The task forces had said IMDT was an "impediment to tackle the issue."

The West Bengal Chief Minister, Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, had expressed his concern and "warned of dangerous demographic changes." Bhattacharjee had said in some pockets the Bangladeshis outnumbered Indians and said "we cannot allow such infiltration," he said.

But the Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi thrived on such voters (illegal immigrants) and is "attempting to convert the issue as a minority v/s majority issue," he alleged.

The BJP leader said in Assam and West Bengal the Muslim population had increased substantially in places like South and North Dinajpur of West Bengal between 1991 and 2001.

Currently in the country, if a complaint was lodged about illegal immigrants, then under the Foreigner's Act such people had to prove that they were legally staying. But in Assam if an individual lodged such a complaint, then he was responsible for proving it, he said.