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Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has taken a tough stand on the issue of atrocities against Hindus living in Pakistan , saying New Delhi would find it difficult to talk to Islamabad normally if these incidents continue to happen. In an interview to a television news channel, Shinde said: “This is an old problem. Hindus have been migrating to India for a long time. We have always worked for their rehabilitation here. We will continue to do that. We will always ask for full protection for our people in the neighbouring country. We can’t talk to them ( Pakistan ) normally if such things keep happening. We will raise this issue with Pakistan with full force and ask for assurance that our people are protected”. On the issue of recent ethnic violence in Assam between the indigenous bodos and the Bengali speaking communities, Shinde told News 24’s editor in chief Anurradha Prasad in her weekly show Aamne Samne that, “our first priority is to stop violence, and, I am happy to report that there has been calm for the last three days. We have sent a CBI team there to investigate which should submit a report in a time bound manner. We will take strict action against the culprits”. Shinde added, “Illegal migration is an old problem and we are dealing with it firmly. We have a long porous border with Bangladesh and we are trying hard to check infiltration. We are taking a very tough stand on foreigners coming to India illegally and that includes Bangladeshis. At the same time, people who are now settled in India can’t be thrown out”. He also revealed that investigating agencies have got more evidence against Pakistan on 26/11 from the joint questioning of Abu Jundaal and Kasab. He said, "We have got evidence, but I can’t disclose that to the media, as it may hamper investigations”. On being asked if his approach towards Pakistan ’s role in 26/11 would be as tough as his predecessor P Chidambaram, Shinde said, “Whatever stand Chidambaram took was not his, but the government’s stand, and I can assure you, we will follow the same hard line. I will speak to Chidambaram about this as well”. Shinde also thanked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi for showing faith in him over the years. He also said that he was ready to leave the position of Leader of the House in the Lok Sabha if Rahul Gandhi decided to take it for himself. He said, “I want him to take a higher position than me but if he wants to be ‘leader of the house’, I am always ready to vacate it”. Shinde said the “Gandhi family has given me so much. Rajeev Gandhi had faith in me, and now, Soniaji has given me so much”. He also creditted Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar for bringing him into politics, but it did not mean they had similar thoughts. He said that he needed time to understand the workings of the Union Home Ministry, and added that media and the people should not pass judgement on his performance as a minister in haste.

India can't talk to Pak if atrocities against minority Hindus continue: Shinde