Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party yesterday alleged that northeastern Indian state of Assam faced “a Himalayan threat of demographic invasion due to unchecked infiltration from Bangladesh.”

A resolution at a meeting of the party's highest policymaking forum the National Executive in Allahabad said, “An important issue for Assam -- the problem of underdevelopment -- is the threat of demographic invasion the state has faced from an unchecked infiltration from neighbouring Bangladesh for decades on.

“It has reached Himalayan proportions and signalled a death-knell to Assam's identity, culture and traditions besides severely affecting state's economy and people's livelihood. Successive governments have turned a blind eye to this problem with an eye on their vote banks. The then ruling Party (Congress) in the state and its chief minister have gone to the ridiculous extent of denying the existence of even a single infiltrator in the state,” the resolution said.

The BJP, which was voted to power in recent elections to the Assam assembly, said it had gone to the people promising them “freedom from security from infiltrators” and their champions and apologists and people gave a wholehearted mandate in its favour.

That is why the National Executive does not look at the victory in the Assembly elections as just another electoral victory alone and “signifies a major ideological victory for the party.”

The resolution said the landslide victory of BJP in Assam “has given us a great opportunity to expand our footprint in the entire North Eastern region. The North Eastern region is important for us electorally in local terms; development-wise in national terms; and pivotal in international strategic terms.”

Indicating its decision to assume power in eight northeastern states, BJP said the party had constituted the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) saying the alliance of non-Congress political parties from the eight states “will emerge as a powerhouse of faster development of the entire region. It will also help us expand the party in the entire region.”

Prime Minister Modi and BJP President Amit Shah addressed the National Executive meeting.