"Congress Doing Hindu-Muslim Politics, Not BJP", Says Dilip Saikia

Assam BJP President Dilip Saikia on Monday strongly countered allegations that the party has been indulging in Hindu-Muslim politics over the years, as well as in the run-up to the 2026 Assembly elections.

Speaking during an exclusive interview with Pratidin Time Editor-in-Chief Nitumoni Saikia at The Conclave 2025, the state BJP chief turned the accusation back on the Congress.

When asked why the BJP and its leaders, including the Chief Minister, often highlight Hindu-Muslim issues in their campaigns, Saikia replied: “It is actually the Congress that has done Hindu-Muslim politics for decades. We don’t hide anything, we say clearly that we will do politics to protect and safeguard the interests of our indigenous Hindus and indigenous Muslims…the Assamese lot. But the Congress has been the one welcoming illegal immigrants, giving them ration cards, voter IDs, and land pattas, and destroying Assam for vote bank politics.”

“This is the question you should have asked Gaurav Gogoi when he was here on your programme yesterday," he said.

Saikia referred to history to back his claim. He pointed out that after partition and especially after 1971, refugees from Mymensingh district of Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) started pouring into Assam, causing demographic changes. “Even the Supreme Court in 2005, while scrapping the IMDT Act, said there has been a demographic invasion in Assam. These are not our words, but the Court’s verdict,” he said.

He also cited a report from 1971, when then Chief Election Commissioner S. L. Shakdher had warned of a sharp rise in Muslim immigrant population between 1961 and 1971. “The report said there was an increase of 34.98% in 10 years. These are official facts,” Saikia stressed.

Defending the BJP’s position, he said: “If you want to talk about Hindu-Muslim politics, then yes, we will do politics for indigenous Hindus and indigenous Muslims of Assam. But not for illegals who came later. There is no question of supporting them. At the same time, if any nationalist Muslim, Christian, or Buddhist puts the nation above all, the BJP has no problem standing with them.”

On being asked about the youth, Saikia recalled the APSC recruitment scam during Congress rule. “Earlier, even meritorious students did not get jobs if the chairman was not satisfied. Everyone in Assam knows who appointed Rakesh Paul. But today, jobs are given on merit. The youth now have faith in the system, and that environment has been created by the BJP government,” he said.

He also spoke about development and investment opportunities in Assam. Saikia pointed to the upcoming semiconductor facility and growing interest from both Indian and foreign investors. 

“Investors are now looking at Assam as an investment hub. These things don’t happen in a day. The government has worked hard, and because of that, the mindset of the youth is also changing and developing,” he said.

Saikia further reiterated his charge against the Congress, saying, “For years, they did appeasement politics and vote bank politics, welcoming illegals. They are the ones who divided Assam along Hindu-Muslim lines. So if you want to ask who has really done Hindu-Muslim politics, it is the Congress, not the BJP.”

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