Assam will “push back” undocumented migrants into Bangladesh within a week of them being declared foreigners by the Foreigners’ Tribunals, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Thursday, adding that in the last three months, the Assam government had forced 2,000 persons into Bangladesh.
He said that this was adopted as a policy after the revival of the 1950 Immigrants Expulsion from Assam Act. The Act grants powers to district commissioners and senior superintendents of police to expel “illegal migrants” from the state by bypassing the Foreigners’ Tribunals. In September, the Assam Cabinet approved the framing of a standard operating procedure under the Act. Earlier, cases pertaining to undocumented migrants were handled by the Foreigners’ Tribunals.
Sarma said that the state government does “not need” a repatriation treaty between New Delhi and Dhaka for this.
He added that with the state government’s new policy, it has “bypassed the need” for a treaty between India and Bangladesh on the matter.
Through this, the state would be able to expel 10,000 to 50,000 undocumented migrants in a year if they are identified, Sarma said.
Foreigners’ Tribunals in Assam are quasi-judicial bodies that adjudicate matters of citizenship. Those declared foreigners by the tribunals have the option to appeal the decision before the Gauhati High Court or the Supreme Court of India.
On Thursday, Sarma said that the decision to force persons into Bangladesh within a week of them being declared foreigners had been taken so that the process does not get prolonged in the High Court or the Supreme Court.
“The whole problem is that there was no instrument in the hands of the state government to do anything once a person is declared a foreigner. So, a designated jail was made. Ultimately, they would get even more facilities there from the state government than they would get in their villages,” Sarma said.
In recent days, police in several states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party have been detaining Bengali-speaking Muslims and asking them to prove that they are Indian citizens. Several persons have been forced into Bangladesh after they were labelled as Bangladeshis. In some cases, persons who were mistakenly sent to Bangladesh returned to the country after state authorities in India proved that they were Indians.
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