‘India Won’t Be Safe Till Borders Are Secure’: Amit Shah Targets Mamata Over Border Fencing

Union Home Minister Amit Shah today unleashed a scathing criticism against the erstwhile government of West Bengal over border security citing negligence on their part when it came to giving land for fence construction on the Indo-Bangla border time and again. 

“Pleas Went in One Ear and Out the Other” 

Speaking at a programme organized in Siliguri for laying the foundation stones for several projects of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Shah emphasized that ensuring India’s borders is important for both the nation’s security and that of West Bengal.
Targeting the former CM of the state Mamata Banerjee directly, Amit Shah claimed that the central government has been asking for 1,129 acres of land from 2014 to enhance border security.
"My urgent calls to Mamata Banerjee for land to establish border fencing by the BSF went in one ear and out the other.” As per him, the needful land was granted to them only after the Adhikari government took charge of the state.

“India Can’t Be Safe Without Securing Its Borders” 

The minister highlighted that both West Bengal and India will be in danger unless its borders get secured.
Moreover, he criticized the former chief ministers of not participating in events conducted by the BSF and SSB, as they send out the wrong message.
Referring to the SSB as “not a political entity,” Shah congratulated West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on attending the event and remarked that it was a change from the old times. 

From Border Security to Vande Mataram 

However, the talk soon went past the topic of border security. Vande Mataram became the subject of discussion of Shah when he said he was heartbroken as the previous governments did not give the song due importance after the country got independence. According to Shah, it was for the first time that the complete song of Vande Mataram was sung at the Red Fort.

‘150 Years of Vande Mataram’ 

Emphasizing the importance of the occasion, Shah said that it was the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.
In bringing together the two strands of an old debate on border fencing and the adoption of a national song, the theme of Shah’s Siliguri speech was clear:
Fence the borders. Safeguard the national ethos.
And since West Bengal had an international border which was sensitive, the point made was clear for the Centre – border security is national security.