Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday launched a sharp attack on former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her administration of delaying land acquisition needed to complete the India-Bangladesh border fencing.
It is not for the BJP’. The home minister presented chief minister Suvendu Adhikari as a stark contrast to Banerjee, saying Adhikari often approved the home ministry’s requests after a phone call. “Ever since Adhikari came to power, we have received whatever we required to enhance our border security.
“We were tired of pleading with Mamata Banerjee, but she didn’t hand over the land,” Shah said. “Once I even went to her office and said, ‘Please give the land for India’s security. She said yes but never gave the land till her exit,” Shah told an event at the North Bengal frontier headquarters of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) in Siliguri. The state’s approvals for projects are now received even before formal letters are sent,” Shah said.
“To make this corridor impregnable, we have increased vigilance and deployment of forces. “Today, we inaugurated projects worth ₹ 189 crore focused on the SSB’s infrastructure and administrative needs. It is a 60 km-long stretch of land, no wider than 22 km at its broadest point, bordered by Nepal and Bhutan in the north, Bangladesh in the south, and not far from the Chinese border.
“As much as 11,029 acres of land was given to the BSF and SSB by Suvendu Adhikari within 100 days of the government’s formation,” he said. Whether it is the SSB, Assam Rifles or the BSF, forces that guard our borders are always the top priority of the Union home ministry,” Shah said. The union home minister said the government has given the highest priority to the strategically sensitive Siliguri Corridor, commonly referred to as the Chicken’s Neck. We have also conducted army exercises such as the Teesta Prahar,” Shah said.
