Bhartiya Janta Party president Nitin Gadkari on Thursday blamed illegal immigrants for the attacks on north-east people across the country.
"The attacks in some parts of the country on people from the North East is unfortunate... These are being perpetrated by illegal migrants living in the country. There is a foreign hand in this. The Centre should deal firmly with such incidents," Gadkari told news agency Press Trust of India.
"The problem in Assam is not religious or communal but that of the Indian versus the outsider. Anti-national people are involved in this violence. Similarly, in Mumbai the crowd had waived Pakistani flag and made provocative remarks. They also vandalised the martyrs' memorial," Gadkari said.
More than 6800 north east people who were living in Bangalore left for their home towns on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, fearing attacks in the state.
"There are rumours that after ramzan there might be some attack. Even our relatives and family members in our hometown are worried for our safety and calling us back for security reasons," a 22-year-old north-east student said.
Gadkari said that he has asked Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and CM's of other BJP ruled states to provide the communities full security and protection and also asked them to make sure that no harm is done to them.
Despite the assurance from the Karnataka government, people from north-east region residing in Bangalore are still worried about the clashes.
