Tarun Gogoi, who is fighting what could be his last Assembly election in Assam talks about various issues in the interview.
BJP raises the issue of infiltration from Bangladesh into Assam just like it flags the Ayodhya issue nationally ahead of every elections, according to Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.
He says BJP rakes up the illegal migration issue and Ram temple before each elections but does not want to solve them because of vote-bank politics.
"Actually, they (BJP) remember the infiltration issue always just before the election. In Assam, the issue is like what Ram Mandir is for them nationally. They will never solve it but will keep alive the issue for doing vote-bank politics," Gogoi told PTI in an interview.
In its bid to woo indigenous Assamese voters, BJP has given infiltration a major space in its campaign agenda during the ongoing Assembly polls and is attacking the Gogoi-led Congress government of encouraging illegal immigration from Bangladesh for getting votes of Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Role and motive of the saffron party
Questioning the role and motive of the saffron party, Gogoi accused the BJP-led NDA government of not doing anything to solve the problem despite being in the power twice.
"You (BJP) were at the Centre twice. Your partner AGP was in power twice in the state when you were at the Centre.Why did you not take any action?" said the veteran Congressman.
Why did you not take any action?" said the veteran Congressman.
Gogoi said "you have your party units in every district and town. If there are so many infiltrators, then why are you not informing or complaining to the police or to the local authorities?"
Led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah, almost all BJP leaders have been attacking Congress of being sympathetic to Bangladeshi infiltrators, while Congress is claiming credit of expanding border fencing and updating the National Register of Citizens under the Supreme Court guidelines.
Assam's demography
When pointed to the gradual change in Assam's demography, Gogoi said "yes, demography of Assam is changing.
But is it changing because of influx or population explosion due to illiteracy? We have go and address the actual cause of this problem."
According to a 2011 Census report, Muslims constituted 34.2% of Assam's population compared to 30.9 per cent a decade earlier.
Assam's 9 out of 27 districts are now Muslim-majority, compared to six districts in 2001.
Gogoi said that barring Kerala, where literacy rate is high, the population of Muslims across India is rising.
"If it is rising in Assam because of illegal immigration, then why is it growing in other states? And if there are infiltrators, then why are you not catching them? All central agencies are under you, so take action," said Gogoi.
Population growth among the minority community
Talking about the issue of high percentage of population growth among the minority community, he said the rise is happening mainly because of illiteracy in many areas.
"We need to spread education. The rate of illiteracy is higher in char (temporary islands) areas. However, illiteracy is the highest among the tea tribes in Assam," the Chief Minister added.
He, however, accepted that very small scale infiltration is still going on in all border states but "the way it is being presented is not correct".
Asked if the aggressive campaigning by BJP is influencing voters, Gogoi said "yes, Hindu polarisation is happening due to the infiltration issue.
"AGP did it first and now BJP is doing the same. Even I was defeated very badly due to this issue in 1985", the Chief Minister said.
BJP's ally AGP was born out of the six-year bloody Assam agitation against illegal immigration by All Assam Students Union and won the 1985 Assembly poll by huge margins.
AGP came to power twice, first in 1985 and then in 1996, with a promise to solve the issue and make Assam an infiltrator-free state but failed to bring in any significant change.
Gogoi talks about his Son & Lok Sabha Member Gaurav
Replying to a question, Gogoi, who is fighting what could be his last Assembly election, does not want his son and Lok Sabha Member Gaurav to join the state politics after his retirement.
"I do not want Gaurav to come to state politics. He will not be able to grow here. To grow, he has to be in national politics," he said.
Gogoi, who won Lok Sabha elections for six times, is of the opinion that Gaurav should get more exposure.
"He (Gaurav) must get much more exposure. Otherwise, his mind will be narrow. Earlier when I joined the state politics, initially I found it difficult to adjust here," he added.
Gaurav started his electoral career in 2014 by winning the Lok Sabha elections from Kaliabor constituency.
On the other hand, the 80-year old Chief Minister started his electoral politics in 1968 by becoming a member of Jorhat Municipal Board in Assam.
Tarun Gogoi's political journey and his personal life
Tarun Gogoi was first elected to Lok Sabha in 1971 and rose and became the General Secretary of AICC in 1985, followed by President of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee from 1986 to 1990.
He was Union Food Minister in 1991-1993 and Food Processing Industry Minister in 1993-1995.
Gogoi assumed the office of Chief Minister in May, 2001 to form the Congress government which is ruling the state for three consecutive term since then.
Asked if he has any regret in his political life, Gogoi said "there is no political regret. The central leadership has given me due recognition. I never wanted and asked for anything but I got everything. The central leaders have put their confidence in me."
He also expressed happiness about "very good relations" with all leaders since Indira Gandhi.
On the personal front, however, the veteran Congress leader said politics has affected his family life.
"Yes, personal life has been hampered because of my active political life. I could not spend time with my family.
It is a fact. I had no option. Since childhood, I had decided that I would join politics," he added.
Gogoi said his wife Dolly Gogoi is not involved in politics and it has helped him to concentrate on his work.
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