The people of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh will never forget how former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had said “bye-bye” to the two northeastern states during the 1962 Chinese aggression, Union home minister Amit Shah claimed on Tuesday, adding that China could not encroach a “single inch” of Indian land under the Narendra Modi government.

Addressing a Lok Sabha poll rally in Lakhimpur district of Assam, Shah said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government secured the country’s border with Bangladesh and stopped infiltration.

“During the Chinese aggression of 1962, Nehru had said ‘bye-bye’ to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. People of these states can never forget that,” Shah said. “But now, China could not encroach even a single inch of our land. Even in Doklam, we pushed them back.”

There was no immediate reaction available from the Congress to Shah’s comments.

His remarks come even as India and China have been locked in a military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh since May 2020, and a full resolution of the border crisis through ongoing negotiations appears elusive.

Attacking the previous Congress-led government, Shah said Assam’s border with Bangladesh was earlier “open for infiltration” and credited the BJP governments at the Centre and in the state for “stopping infiltration.”

Shah further noted that the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act — which grants special powers to armed forces to maintain law and order in “disturbed areas” — has been withdrawn from 80% of areas of the state.

Polling for all 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam will be held in three phases on April 19, April 26 and May 7. Lakhimpur will vote in the first phase.

Seeking vote for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidates, Shah said the development of the Northeast is centre to the overall growth of the nation.

“There are two alternatives before you — to vote for (Congress leader) Rahul Gandhi and INDI Alliance, or vote for the Modi-led BJP,” he told the gathering.