Amit Shah Asserts Modi's Leadership Prevented China from Annexing Indian Territory, Says 'Nehru said bye-bye to Assam'

Amit Shah: Home Minister Amit Shah boasted on Tuesday that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, China was unable to annex a single inch of land. He also added that Jawaharlal Nehru, the previous prime minister, had bid the states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh farewell during the 1962 Chinese invasion.

Context of Shah's Speech

Shah's speech at an election rally in Lakhimpur, Assam, came amid a verbal spat between Beijing and New Delhi regarding Arunachal Pradesh. China, which regards the frontier state as Zangnan, has asserted its territorial claims to the area and complained against Prime Minister Modi's recent visit to the state to inaugurate Sela Tunne. China's claims were denied by India, which asserted that Arunachal Pradesh has always been a part of India and will remain so regardless of Beijing's repeated denials of this fact.

Nehru's Handling of 1962 Aggression

"During the Chinese aggression of 1962, Nehru had said 'bye-bye' to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. People of these states can never forget that…But now, China could not encroach even a single inch of our land. Even in Doklam, we pushed them back," he added.

The Home Minister claimed that border security and the prevention of infiltration from Bangladesh were priorities for the BJP-led administration. The frontier was previously "open for infiltration," he claimed.

Halting Infiltration

"We can say that infiltration has stopped," Shah declared, citing the administrations of Himanta Biswa Sarma at the state and Modi at the federal level. Additionally, he charged that the former Congress administration in Assam had killed many people and inflicted "injustice" on the state by way of various violent movements and insurgency-related occurrences.

"Peace accords were signed and 9,000 youths surrendered under the Modi government in the last ten years," he stated, adding that the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act has been removed from 80% of the state.

Assam Accord vs Bodo Accord

He claimed that although the terms of the Assam Accord were agreed, they were never carried out. But all the terms were met two years after the BJP government signed the Bodo Accord. Amit Shah stated that voters have a clear choice between supporting Rahul Gandhi and the INDIA group and voting for the Modi-led BJP to secure a third term of administration at the federal level.