Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday doubled down on his government’s ambition to detect and deport illegal immigrants in the country, while strongly criticising the political parties “protecting or covering up for illegal immigrants for the sake of vote bank politics”.Addressing the party workers after the new BJP chief Nitin Nabin took charge, PM Modi said: “Illegal immigrants pose a great threat to the country’s security. Identifying them and sending them back to their countries is absolutely essential.”“No country in the world accepts illegal immigrants. India, too, cannot allow illegal immigrants to steal the rights of our poor and our youth. Illegal immigrants pose a great threat to the country’s security. Identifying them and sending them back to their countries is absolutely essential,” PM Modi said during an address at the BJP headquarters.Without naming any political party, but in an apparent attack on Trinamool Congress (TMC), which rules the poll-bound West Bengal, PM Modi lashed out at parties “covering up for illegal immigrants” and said: “We must expose them to the public”.PM Modi also said the world doesn’t question the “wealthiest and most powerful countries” when they crack down on illegal immigrants.“Even the world’s wealthiest and most powerful countries are investigating and apprehending illegal immigrants within their borders and deporting them. And the world doesn’t question them, asking, “Why are you deporting these illegal immigrants? You were waving the flag of democracy. You were acting like the rulers of the world, so why are you doing this?” PM Modi said.‘Urban Naxalism a major challenge’Stepping up his offensive against the BJP’s nemesis, PM Modi said another major challenge is “urban Naxalism”, the scope of which he said has become “international”.The Prime Minister said that the “urban Naxals isolated the BJP” and treated the party like “untouchables throughout the country,” adding he said urban Naxals are “continuously working to harm India”.“Another major challenge is urban Naxalism. The scope of urban Naxalism is becoming international. If they tweet something positive about Modi even once or twice a year, or say something positive on TV, or write something positive in a newspaper, some journalists humiliate them so much that they are hounded and made untouchable. They are silenced so that they can never speak again. This is the method of urban Naxalism,” PM Modi said. The PM further said: “For years, they isolated the BJP and treated us like untouchables throughout the country. Now the country is understanding the actions of these urban Naxals. Urban Naxals are continuously working to harm India.”
