AIUDF MLA Majibur Rahman has alleged that the Assam government is harassing genuine Indian citizens under the guise of ‘pushback’ policy. He said that the voice of the opposition is being ignored in the Assembly and the government is supporting this policy.
All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MLA Majibur Rahman has alleged that the Assam government is harassing genuine Indian citizens in the name of its “pushback policy”. He also accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of ignoring the concerns raised by the opposition in the Assembly.
Speaking to ANI, Rehman said that the issue was raised by Leader of Opposition in Assam Assembly Wazed Ali Choudhary, but the ruling party did not react to it. Rehman said on Tuesday, “Opposition leader Wazed Ali Choudhary raised this issue in the Assembly. However, the ruling party did not pay any attention. We also demonstrated in front of the Speaker, but they still did not pay any attention. They are supporting this policy.”
Calling it an “important issue”, the AIUDF MLA said the opposition has repeatedly appealed to the Speaker and the Chief Minister to ensure that Indian citizens are not targeted under this policy. “This is an important issue, and we have repeatedly requested our speaker and our chief minister not to push back or harass Indian citizens in the name of pushback policy,” he said.
Rehman clarified that his party had no objection to action against illegal immigrants provided genuine citizens were not affected. “If there is even a single Bangladeshi citizen living illegally in Assam, the government can detain them and deport them to Bangladesh. We have no objection to this. But in the name of identifying Bangladeshis, genuine citizens of the state of Assam are being harassed by the state government,” he alleged.
Government presented figures
The Assam government has for the first time revealed the number of illegal immigrants sent to Bangladesh under its “pushback” policy. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told the Assam Assembly that 1,679 illegal immigrants were deported between July 2024 and June 2026, including 193 persons declared foreigners by the Foreigners Tribunal. The state government said the repatriation operation is being conducted under the Immigrants (Removal from Assam) Act, 1950. The disclosure comes amid Bangladesh’s objections to the pushback mechanism.
Supreme Court order
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Monday set aside Gauhati High Court orders that had upheld the declaration of some people as foreigners and sent the cases back to the concerned Foreigners Tribunal for a fresh decision. The bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta made it clear that it had not examined the merits of the Indian citizenship claims of the appellants. The bench also said that determination of citizenship and foreigner status “must be done through a fair, legal and reasonable process”. (ANI)
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