Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that the Centre will soon fence the India-Myanmar border just like it has barricaded the border along with Bangladesh to restrict free movement into the country.
With this announcement, the Free Movement Regime (FMR), which allows people residing close to the India-Myanmar border to venture 16 km into each other's territory without a visa, will end soon.
While speaking at the passing out parade of Assam Police commandos in Guwahati, Amit Shah said, "India's border with Myanmar will soon be protected like the border with Bangladesh".
"I want to tell my friends in Assam that the Narendra Modi government has decided to fence India's open border along with Myanmar just like we have fenced the country's border along with Bangladesh," Shah said.
"The government is also reconsidering India's Free Movement Regime (FMG) agreement with Myanmar and will soon end the free movement into India," he added.
India shares a 1,643-km-long border with Myanmar which passes through states like Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. All these states currently have FMR, which was implemented in 2018 as a part of India's Act East policy.
Amit Shah's remarks came a month after India raised its security concerns with Myanmar, especially the challenges along the border including the influx of Myanmarese refugees in the country.
Further in his speech, Amit Shah attacked the previous Congress regime and said that people had to pay bribes to get government jobs during its tenure, and maintained that not a single penny had to be paid for employment under BJP rule.
Speaking about the mega consecration of Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22, Amit Shah said that Lord Ram would return home after 550 "disrespectful" years.
"It's a matter of pride for entire India," he said, adding that the 'pran pratishthan' ceremony is happening at a time when the country is on its way to becoming a superpower.
