Purnea (Bihar), Sep 15 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday charged opposition parties with shielding illegal immigrants, asserting that infiltration had caused a “demographic crisis” in eastern states like Bihar, Assam and West Bengal, making people “worried for the honour of their sisters and daughters”.

Addressing a rally here, Modi also slammed the Congress for allegedly comparing the people of Bihar with 'bidis', terming it an "insult to Biharis".

He alleged that opposition parties like Congress and RJD have been imperilling “security and resources” of Bihar, and the nation at large, by “defending and shielding” infiltrators from foreign countries.

Modi asserted that infiltration had caused a “demographic crisis” in the eastern part of the country, leaving people in states like Bihar, Assam and West Bengal “worried for the honour of their sisters and daughters”.

“This was the reason why I had announced a demography mission from the Red Fort (on Independence Day). But such is vote bank politics that Congress, RJD and their entire ecosystem are busy defending and shielding the foreign infiltrators,” alleged Modi.

These opposition parties are putting at stake the security and the resources of the nation, he claimed.

“They have become so shameless that they are raising slogans and taking out yatras in support of infiltrators from foreign countries,” said the PM, in an apparent reference to the recently concluded ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ of the Congress.

“But let me tell RJD, Congress and their ilk that the NDA is committed to driving out each and every infiltrator. I challenge leaders who are trying to protect infiltrators to try with all their might. We will continue to flush out infiltrators,” asserted the PM.

Those who are trying to shield illegal immigrants should remember that the law of the land, and not the whims of infiltrators, shall prevail in Bharat, he said, adding: “It is Modi’s guarantee we will launch a crackdown on infiltration and the country will reap its benefits." In a veiled reference to allegations of “vote theft” and the strident opposition to special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, ahead of assembly polls, Modi said “the people of the state and the country are going to give a befitting reply to Congress and RJD which have been trying to protect infiltrators in the garb of raising issues”.

The PM also referred to a tweet by the Kerala unit of the Congress, which was deleted following a controversy.

“The Congress leaders say 'bidis' and Bihar start with B. This is a sheer insult to the state and its people. They will give a befitting reply to the Congress and its alliance partners in the coming days," Modi said.

The social media post had sought to underscore that a drop had been proposed in GST rates on bidis, even though the same were raised for cigarettes and tobaccos, with an eye on assembly polls in Bihar.

Modi also referred to the new GST rates, which will come into force from September 22, when Navratri festivities begin.

“It is a major gift from the NDA government to the middle class and the lower class. Mothers and sisters will have to spend less on household items. Buying new clothes during festivals and purchasing stationery for children will become easy,” he said.

Asserting that the NDA government cares for and works for the common people, the PM claimed that in contrast, the Congress and the RJD, which ruled the state for long, merely filled up their own coffers.

He also recalled a famous statement by the late Rajiv Gandhi, without mentioning him by name.

“A Prime Minister of the Congress had admitted that of every rupee spent by the government, only 15 paise reached the people. Of course, the 85 paise were eaten up by the hand in the light glowing from the lantern,” said the PM, in an obvious reference to poll symbols of the Congress and the RJD.

Those parties, while in power, did not think of providing free rations to the poor, which the BJP-led government has been ensuring since the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

“They were simply incapable of visualizing free medical treatment to all, which we are providing under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana,” said the PM.

Modi also took a dig at Gandhi's son Rahul, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, without mentioning him by name.

Referring to the establishment of a "Makhana Board", which is expected to give a boost to cultivation of Indian foxnuts, grown in abundance in Seemanchal region of Bihar, Modi said, "Those who have been making rounds of these places of late might never have heard of makhana until I brought it into the spotlight".

During the Voter Adhikar Yatra, Gandhi had interacted with Makhana cultivators in Katihar, a district adjoining Purnea, currently represented in the Lok Sabha by senior Congress leader Tariq Anwar. PTI PKD NAM MNB BDC NN