Kashmir Impulse Desk
New Delhi, Aug 21
India and West Bengal cannot be secure unless their borders are secured, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday, accusing the previous West Bengal government of delaying land allocation needed to strengthen fencing along the India-Bangladesh border.
Speaking at a programme for the groundbreaking and foundation stone laying of several Sashastra Seema Bal projects at its frontier headquarters in Siliguri, Shah said he had repeatedly sought land from former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee for border fencing.
“My desperate pleas to Mamata Banerjee for land to set up border fences by the BSF fell on deaf ears,” Shah said.
He said he had been seeking 1,129 acres of land since 2014 to strengthen border security and that the required land parcel was provided only after the government led by Suvendu Adhikari was formed in the state.
Shah said border security was fundamental to the safety of both West Bengal and India.
He also criticised previous chief ministers for not attending programmes organised by the SSB or Border Security Force, saying their absence sent the wrong signal.
The SSB, he said, was not a political organisation and its work should not be viewed through a political lens.
Shah also spoke about the national song Vande Mataram, saying previous governments had failed to give it due recognition since Independence.
He said the complete version of the song had never been sung at the Red Fort during Independence Day celebrations until this year.
“It gives me solace that the nation has finally recognised the song on the 150th year of its creation by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay,” Shah said.
