Will remove every infiltrator residing in country, says PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday called upon Indians to reaffirm their resolve to remove every infiltrator from the country.

The Prime Minister also launched a scathing attack on the country’s first PM, Jawaharlal Nehru, claiming that he prevented Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel from fully integrating Kashmir into the Indian Union.

Addressing a gathering in Kevadia in Gujarat after the Ekta Diwas Parade, which was held to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Patel, Modi recalled the announcement of the Demography Mission from the Red Fort during his Independence Day speech this year to address the challenge posed by infiltrators.

He said even now when the issue was being raised seriously, some individuals were prioritising personal interests over national welfare.

Modi said these people were engaged in political battles to grant rights to the infiltrators and were indifferent to the “consequences of national disintegration”.

Underlining that the unity and internal security of the nation were facing a grave threat from the infiltrators, the PM said for decades, infiltrators had entered the country, seized resources meant for citizens, disrupted demographic balance and jeopardised national unity.

He criticised previous governments for turning a blind eye to the issue and accused them of compromising national security for vote-bank politics. Now, for the first time, the country had resolved to fight this major threat decisively and every infiltrator would be removed from its soil, he said.

According to official sources, the Demography Mission will present a report on the long-term impact of the infiltrators on the socio-cultural and economic profiles of border regions of the country in view of a large number of persons from neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh and Pakistan having mingled with people residing in areas along the border.

Citing the growing threat of infiltration, the PM used the occasion of National Unity Day to call upon the nation to reaffirm its resolve to remove every infiltrator residing in India.

Attacking the erstwhile Congress regimes, Modi claimed that instead of following the nation’s first Home Minister’s policies, they chose a spineless approach, the consequences of which were borne by the nation in the form of violence and bloodshed.

The PM pointed to the “mistakes” made in Kashmir, the challenges in the North-East, and the spread of Naxal-Maoist terrorism across the country as direct threats to India’s sovereignty.

He referred to how the previous governments treated Patel and his legacy, and similarly “marginalised” Baba Saheb Ambedkar during his lifetime and even after his passing.

Modi said during the previous government’s era, only one former Prime Minister had a dedicated museum. In contrast, his government had built the Prime Ministers’ Museum to honour the contributions of all former Prime Ministers.

Later in the day, Modi, in a post on X, said the Ekta Diwas Parade was a grand occasion for the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and the state police forces to showcase their skills and courage.

Earlier in the morning, President Droupadi Murmu, Home Minister Amit Shah, Lieutenant Governor of Delhi VK Saxena and Delhi CM Rekha Gupta paid floral tributes to Patel in New Delhi.

Shah lauded all paramilitary and police force personnel who were awarded the Kendriya Grihamantri Dakshata Padak on the occasion of National Unity Day.