Prime Minister Narendra Modi
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to soon announce a “High-Powered Demography Mission”, a strategic national initiative to curb illegal immigration into the bordering states from neighbouring countries, especially Bangladesh and Myanmar, and address artificial demographic changes across the country.Delivering the annual Rustamji Memorial lecture hosted by the Border Security Force (BSF) here, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said after making the country naxal-free, time has come to stop the infiltration that has been going for years.“Now the time has come to stop the infiltration program that has been going on for years without any restrictions... Many retired police officers told me not to undertake the Naxal-free campaign... They said the same to the Prime Minister, too. But the Indian government remained steadfast... A five-decade-old problem is now ending, and India has become Naxal-free... Now the BSF should proceed with the same determination to combat infiltration... The Prime Minister has launched the High Powered Demography Mission, which will be announced in a few days... The High Powered Demography Mission will also make identified points available to BSF...,” Shah said.Modi, during election campaign in just-held West Bengal and Assam assembly polls had vowed to end the infiltration. On numerous occasions, he had stated that large-scale infiltration from across the border was being used as a tool to artificially alter the demography and undermine the cultural identity of Bengal.Union Home Minister said that in coming days he will hold a meeting of the affected states -- Tripura, Assam and West Bengal -- in the Ministry to come up with a unified policy for creating security layer preventing infiltration.“Now, in Tripura, Assam, and West Bengal, there are governments that, as a matter of policy, believe that there should be no infiltration into the country... In the coming days, we will be holding a meeting with the Chief Ministers of the three states at the Home Ministry, and we will be creating a strong security layer to prevent infiltration,” he stated.At the same time, he urged the BSF, that instead of just the border, “we should now communicate with everyone from the District Collector to the Patwari, from the Superintendent of Police to the Police Station-in-charge, and using all the information received from them, we should also create a smooth system to expel infiltrators.”He also announced that the government will launch a “smart border” project next year to make the 6,000 km fronts with Pakistan and Bangladesh impenetrable and ensure that the “conspiracy” to change the demography of the areas is defeated.Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday met Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The meetings assume importance as West Bengal government, which was hesitant during previous TMC rule, handed over a crucial 27-kilometre stretch of land to the BSF, leading to the commencement of fencing work along the India-Bangladesh border in the Phansidewa area of Siliguri subdivision.Published on May 22, 2026
