Over 1,600 illegal Bangladeshis repatriated from Assam in 2 years: Himanta Biswa Sarma

Sarma said a total of 1,679 illegal immigrants have been repatriated (deported/sent back/expelled) from Assam to Bangladesh in the last two years

: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday told the assembly that 1,679 illegal Bangladeshis have been repatriated from the state in the past two years.

“A total of 1679 illegal immigrants have been repatriated (deported/sent back/expelled) from Assam to Bangladesh in the last two years,” Sarma said in reply to a question by All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MLA Badruddin Ajmal.

The CM said that the repatriations took place between July 1, 2024 and June 30 this year, but did not provide further details. He had previously said that the illegal immigrants from the neighbouring country were being ‘pushed back’ under provisions of the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act (IEAA), 1950.

Asserting that Assam follows the Centre’s directives on illegal immigrants, the chief minister said the state ensured that human rights of the migrants were protected, underlining that illegal immigrants whose appeals are pending in courts had not been repatriated.

In a reply to another query by Congress MLA Nurul Islam on D-Voters, the chief minister said there were 91,385 ‘D-voters’ (voters with doubtful citizenship) in the state’s electoral rolls.

He said the highest number of such voters was in Sonitpur district (13,719), followed by Barpeta (8,081).

The chief minister said that the process of identifying and segregating D-Voters from regular voters has been ongoing in the state since 1997, as per the directions of the Election Commission.

Sarma said that 56,728 of the D-Voters were declared as foreigners by foreigners tribunals (FTs) in the state, while 831 of those who appealed against such segregation were termed as illegals by higher courts.

He also informed that 65,171 D-Voters have been declared Indians by FTs to date, while 42 others have been termed citizens by the Gauhati High Court and the Supreme Court.

In reply to another question, he said 199,596 D-voters were detected when the process started in 1997. Since then, 31,389 of them have been expelled from the country after being declared foreigners.

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