Claiming that infiltration was on the decline over the last three years, Gogoi also said in a television interview that Assam Governor Lt Gen (retd) Ajai Singh should provide facts to substantiate his report that 6,000 immigrants enter the state everyday.

"Infiltration has been going on for years, I am not denying it (but) I don't consider it threatening," he said in an interview with BBC's 'Hardtalk Asia' programme.

Asked by interviewer Karan Thapar about the affidavit filed by the Assam government with the Supreme Court on April 13 that "large-scale infiltration from Bangladesh" was a problem, Gogoi said, "I have changed my position."

To a query whether this change of stand had anything to do with frequent allegations that Congress used Muslims as a vote bank, he said, "Muslims voted us out of power in 1986 and 1996 and even in 2000, when I came to power, 50 percent voted for us and 50 percent for them (BJP-AGP combine)."

On talks with militant group ULFA, Gogoi said he had asked the Centre that the same principle that was used in dialogue with NSCN (IM) should apply to them too.

Disputing the figures on immigrants reportedly given by the governor in a report to the Centre, Gogoi said, "On what basis he can say 6,000 (people enter the country every day)? He should substantiate it. If he furnishes the facts, I can reply also."

When reminded that Minister of State for Home Affairs Sriprakash Jaiswal had said in Parliament that there were five million illegal immigrants in Assam, the chief minister said the statement was not based on facts.

He said Jaiswal had subsequently revised his figures after he took up the matter with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

Asked whether he would take up the governor's report with the Centre, Gogoi said: "I will write to the prime minister and complain about it."