AGARTALA: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the government will not tolerate demographic changes in West Bengal, Tripura and Bihar, asserting that the Centre is taking steps to bridge gaps in guarding the country’s borders.
Shah, addressing BSF personnel at Lankamura Border Outpost in Tripura, also said that the government’s "smart border" project is in the final stage.
“Demographic changes in West Bengal, Tripura and Bihar will not be tolerated… The Centre is making all efforts to bridge the gaps in guarding international borders,” the home minister said.
“The concept of ‘smart border’ will be implemented in seven to eight places of the country as a pilot project. I request the Union home secretary and the director general of the BSF to visit border areas, and hold talks,” he said.
The new security grid will include cutting-edge tech, local administration and border sentinels, Shah said.
“Every border has its own challenges, from human trafficking to arms smuggling to drug supply, but the BSF jawans do their best to face these challenges,” he said.
“To make India a ‘viksit’ (developed) nation by 2047, we have to stop the entry of fake notes, human trafficking and drugs smuggling from across the borders,” the senior BJP leader said.
Shah had in May said the government will launch a tech-enabled "smart border" project by the 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 country is defeated.
"The government of India has decided that not only will we stop infiltration, but we will find each and every infiltrator and send them out of the country," the home minister had said.
"I want to assure BSF troops that we will launch the smart border project within the 60th year of its raising, and we will make the Bangladesh and Pakistan borders impenetrable through major technical assistance," Shah had said in New Delhi on May 22, while delivering the annual Rustamji Memorial lecture hosted by the BSF.