Monday, March 27 2006 16:10 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Guwahati: Expressing concern over massive infiltration of illegal Bangladeshis into Assam, BJP president Rajnath Singh today (Mar 27, 2006) asserted the problem was 'like an external aggression' and not an ordinary internal problem of the state.

"I am in agreement with Supreme Court's observation when scrapping the IMDT Act that the illegal immigration was not an ordinary internal problem but was like an external aggression," he told sources.

"The infiltration issue has a much larger impact today. Assam's demographic profile has been imbalanced by the abnormal rise of voters in both the assembly and parliamentary voter lists," he asserted.

He accused the Congress government in the state of trying to amend the Foreigners Act by bringing in such provisions that would protect Bangladeshi infiltrators and not deport them easily.

The BJP president also charged the Congress with indulging in minority appeasement not only in Assam but by the UPA government, too, in other parts of the country.

Regarding the coming assembly polls in Assam, Singh said the people of the state were looking for a third alternative after seeing both the Congress and Asom Gana Parishad failing to fulfil the commitments made to them.

"They (Congress and AGP) have lost the confidence of the people. Congress is fast losing its credibility," he said while expressing confidence that BJP would get the requisite numbers to provide the third alternative to the ruling Congress here.