By IANS,
Guwahati : Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has denied media reports quoting him as saying there were no Bangladeshi nationals illegally staying in the state.
The chief minister is said to have made the statement on the sidelines of the National Integration Council (NIC) meeting in New Delhi Monday.
In a statement clarifying the chief minister’s position, his office said in a statement issued here Tuesday that there were no foreign nationals involved in this month’s ethnic violence in Udalguri and Darrang districts.
At least 55 people were killed and over 200,000 displaced following clashes in the two districts in northern Assam .
“Communities involved in the group clashes at Udalguri and Darrang districts were Indian citizens and that he (Gogoi) had not come across any foreign national when he visited the affected areas, though certain political parties projected it as a fight against illegal migrants by indigenous people,” the statement from the chief minister’s office said.
“On the other hand, Gogoi dwelt at length on the slew of initiatives taken by his government to check further infiltration such as border roads and fencing, flood lighting, riverine patrolling and to start the process of updating the National Registrar of Citizens for permanent solution of the foreigners’ problem.”
The statement further said the Assam government would not allow either internal or external aggression to take place and was committed in protecting the country’s territorial integrity.