THE TIMES OF INDIA – May 13, 2015  10:29PM IST

By Naresh Mitra

Guwahati: With the Narendra Modi government considering granting citizenship to Hindus who have migrated to the country from Bangladesh due to religious persecution, various organizations in the state accused BJP of playing ‘communal politics’.

The Asom Sanmilita Mahasanga (ASM), an umbrella body of 40 organizations representing various ethnic groups in the state, accused the Centre of trying to give communal overtones to the problem of infiltration by favouring one section of infiltrators over another. “We are upset by the Centre’s attempt to divide infiltration along communal lines. Immigrants are immigrants, irrespective of their religious affiliation,” ASM working president  Motiur Rahman said.

The development comes a little after two weeks since BJP national president  Amit Shah promised here that Hindus who came to  Assam following religious persecution in the neighbouring country would be given citizenship if BJP won the assembly election next year. Even Modi, in the run-up to the Lok Sabha election, had called for protection of persecuted Hindu migrants from Bangladesh.

BJP, however, refuted allegations of favouritism.

“First, Assam is not the only state where Hindus from Bangladesh have migrated following persecution. In fact, very few Hindus have migrated to Assam. Vested groups are trying to create the impression that Hindu migrants from Bangladesh have only entered Assam,” BJP spokesperson Shiladitya Dev said.

Assam has long been grappling with the problem of illegal influx from Bangladesh. The Centre will soon submit a policy document on the matter to the SC in response to a 2012 petition filed by two NGOs that pleaded that Hindus and other minorities who have migrated from Bangladesh due to religious persecution should not be treated as illegal migrants.

Reprinted from THE TIMES OF INDIA