Assam: Land swap pact with Bangladesh to help check illegal immigration, say BJP MPs

NEW DELHI: Three BJP MPs from Assam today defended the central government's decision to go ahead with a land boundary agreement with Bangladesh saying the pact will help check illegal immigration from across the border.

Ramen Deka, Kamakhya Prasad Tasa and R P Sharma said West Bengal, Tripura and Meghalaya have already given their nod to the agreement and when it comes into force, it would help seal the Indo-Bangla border in Assam completely and stop illegal movement of people.

"While Bangladesh will get 268 acres of land Assam in return will get 231 acres. The people who reside in the areas which will go to Bangladesh have said that they are Bangladeshi nationals and want to stay with that country. So, we are not going to lose anything," Tasa said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had at a meeting in Guwahati on Sunday said India would soon formalise the land boundary agreement with Bangladesh that will ensure exchange of enclaves between the two countries.

Modi's announcement was opposed by several social, political and students organisations and staged protests across Assam.

The BJP MPs also said NDA government will soon unveil a new target-oriented industrial policy to attract investment to the Northeast.

Deka said the North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy (NEIIPP) 2007 expired in September 2014 and hence the new policy will come hopefully by March 2015.

Tasa said a delegation of BJP MPs from Assam yesterday met Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who said she would soon visit Guwahati to have detailed discussions with MPs from the region.