The Prime Minister of India, addressing the nation on its 79th Independence Day delivered a controversial speech in which he described the alleged Illegal immigration as a threat and warned about a “well planned conspiracy” aimed to change the population, announcing a “high powered demographic mission”.
Modi said, “Today, I want to warn the nation against a well planned conspiracy to change the demography of the nation and the seeds of which have already been sown.”
Modi’s controversial remarks come in the wake of targeted crackdowns against “illegal immigrants” by the authorities. The authorities have identified several workers accusing them of being Bangladeshi nationals and faking their documents to live in the country. Many have been pushed across borders without a clear and thorough verification process.
Modi remarked, “These infiltrators are targeting our sisters and daughters. They have misled Adivasis and stole their lands. This must not be tolerated,” linking that demographic changes are a national issue especially in border areas.
“I hereby announce to start a high-powered demography mission which will deal with this danger,” he said, noting that the country must not surrender to the “infiltrators”.
His remarks have received massive backlash. Several politicians including Mamata Banerjee accused the party of illegally targeting Bengali-speaking Muslims migrant workers under the banner of anti-Bangladeshi crackdown.
This story was originally published in muslimmirror.com.