Kumar Bahukhandi
File photo of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. | Photo Credit: PTI
Addressing the Border Security Force (BSF) Investiture Ceremony and the Rustamji Memorial Lecture, Union Home Minister said a ‘high-powered demography mission will be announced soon and it will make vulnerable locations available to BSF’
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the Government of India has decided to not only stop infiltration but expel each infiltrator ensuring that there are no unnatural demographic changes in the country.
Amit Shah said that a Smart Border concept will be unveiled soon, which will make the entire Pakistan and Bangladesh borders “impregnable”. The project equipped with drones, radars, cameras, and other technical resources will plug the gaps in border security.
The Minister said that a high-powered demography mission will be announced soon which will identify the infiltration routes and provide the information to the Border Security Force (BSF).
Need for coordination
He said the BSF, which is deployed along Pakistan and Bangladesh borders, should not work in isolation but instead be in regular contact with local revenue officials, police and district administration to identify illegal migrants and look at border security as “territorial responsibility”.
“The Government of India has decided to not only stop infiltration but also deport each and every infiltrator. We will not allow unnatural demographic changes. BSF has to stop this conspiracy to bring demographic changes in the country. Tripura, West Bengal and Assam have governments now who are convinced that there should be no infiltration. Border personnel should have a dialogue with patwari, district magistrate to identify the infiltration routes and cow smuggling routes, all the routes should be identified and stopped by BSF,” Shah said.
He was addressing the Border Security Force (BSF) Investiture Ceremony and the Rustamji Memorial Lecture, held in the honour of BSF’s founder Director General K.F Rustamji.
“In the coming days, the role of the BSF is going to increase even further. Now, we cannot secure the borders using traditional methods. We will have to strengthen the security grid by working together with State police forces, armed forces, other paramilitary forces, Narcotics Control Bureau, intelligence agencies, and the State police,” the Minister noted.
He said it was the responsibility of the BSF to stop the “artificial demographic change” being carried out through infiltration from across the border. He listed threats of fake currency, cyber security, hybrid warfare, and drones as challenges of the future stressing on a comprehensive strategy to address these issues.
“Now Tripura, Assam, and West Bengal — all three places have such governments that, policy-wise, believe that infiltration should not take place in the country. Now, it is the responsibility of the BSF that we not only secure the borders, but our dialogue should be with the village patwari and the village police station,” the Minister said adding that in the coming days a strategy will be finalised soon in a meeting involving the Chief Ministers of all the three States.
BSF D-G Praveen Kumar said that in the past one year more than 300 drones were shot down by the BSF.
