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Amit Shah visits Seemanchal on first day of Bihar tour
Shah held extensive deliberations with local authorities and security agencies
Union home minister (HM) Amit Shah embarked on a three-day visit to Bihar’s Seemanchal districts on Wednesday with focus on concluding the fight against insurgency led by the Left Wing Extremism by making the region and the country “Naxal-Mukt”. Besides, he also chaired a meeting on border security, that, according to insiders, centred on curbing foreign infiltrations.
On the first day on Wednesday, Shah held extensive deliberations with local authorities and security agencies including the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Border Security Force (BSF) in Kishanganj with regard to serious concerns related to alleged demographic shifts, infiltration and unauthorised religious constructions in sensitive border districts along or lying in the close proximity of Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bangladesh borders.
In Kishanganj, Shah chaired a meeting of the Land Ports Authority of India, a statutory body functioning under the ministry responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining and managing border infrastructure.
Shah landed at Purnea airport Wednesday evening and from where he reached Kishanganj by chopper on the first leg of his three-day tour of the Seemanchal region.
During the meeting with civil administration and law enforcement agencies in Kishanganj, Shah gave clear directives to improve synergy between district administration and police officials especially to tackle infiltration and unauthorised constructions.
HM though has visited Seemanchal several times in recent years, this is believed to be completely different from his previous visits as this particularly itinerary is scheduled to begin with deliberations with top administrative and security officials in Kishanganj Wednesday and he will hold top level meetings with higher officials monitoring the local administration in Araria and Purnea on Thursday and Friday.
On Thursday, Shah will inaugurate the SSB border outpost in the Leti area in the Araria district and will review border security and infrastructure along the Indo-Nepal border. SSB is entrusted with the task of securing the 730-km long Indo-Nepal border.
Shah is likely to interact with the residents living in the villages along the border areas on the second day to feel the pulse of their condition and will review the progress of the Vibrant Villages programme which aims to improve infrastructure in border settlements and stop migration.
Shah will hold comprehensive meetings with all the district magistrates (DMs) and superintendents of police (SPs) of seven districts of Seemanchal and Kosi (Purnea, Katihar, Araria, Kishangan, Saharsa, Madhepura and Supaul) during his three-day visit to Seemanchal.
“NDA government led by Narendra Modi is deeply worried over the security of the ‘Chicken Neck,’ a vital 22-km wide and 60-km long stretch of land in West Bengal connecting eight northeastern states to the rest of India,” said a senior BJP leader declaring, “Situated between Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, it is a highly sensitive, narrow chokepoint often considered vulnerable to security threats.”
Meanwhile Shah’s visit to Seemanchal bordering with West Bengal districts is being seen as a political strategy ahead of West Bengal elections. “Through Seemanchal Shah may send a political narrative in West Bengal making the coming assembly elections against infiltrators. Recently several Bangladeshis trying to enter India without valid documents were arrested.
Union home minister accompanied by Union minister of state for home affairs, Nityanand Rai besides senior officials from the Union ministry including Union home secretary Govind Mohan and Intelligence Bureau Director Tapan Deka was received by Bihar deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary and minister of food and consumer protection government of Bihar Lesi Singh and minister of industries and road construction Dilip Jaiswal at the Purnea Airport.
