VHP demands law to push back infiltrators

The central government must enact a law and formulate a time-bound action plan to push back infiltrators, VHP leader Praveen Togadia said here on Wednesday.

"The BJP-led government must enact a 'foreign national act' to evict infiltrators, especially Muslims, to Bangladesh or their own country," the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's international working president told reporters.

"The central and state governments must initiate a time-bound action plan to push back infiltrators or give death sentences by enacting a suitable law.

"India must accord shelter and provide all facilities including citizenship to refugees forced to leave Bangladesh and Pakistan due to religious persecution," said Togadia, who arrived in Tripura on Wednesday on a three-day tour.

The VHP leader claimed that over 15 million infiltrators, mostly Bangladeshis, were illegally living in the northeastern states, and West Bengal, Assam and other states have been facing security threats due to the infiltration.

Togadia demanded that the 1951 electoral rolls must be the base for identifying infiltrators and said the VHP disapproves the 1971 cut-off year to categorise the Bangladeshi infiltrators as per the Indira-Mujib pact.

He urged the Centre to set up paternity test centers in all northeastern states to identify the infiltrators.

Togadia said the VHP would set up health and educational centres across the country to provide free treatment and free primary education to all needy people, and over 6,000 specialists have already joined to give free treatment to people across the country.

He said the VHP wants Hindus in India to be "protected, prosperous and honoured".

"In the last 10 years, the VHP has prevented 50 lakh people from conversion from Hindu to other religion," he added.