Opposition parties and various organisations in Assam on Thursday demanded that the government begin the process of detecting and deporting the illegal Bangladeshi immigrants who entered the state after March 24, 1971.

The demand stemmed from the Supreme Court’s judgement. The court upheld Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, validating the 1971 cut-off date for granting Indian citizenship to the immigrants.

The 1971 cut-off date is linked to the Assam Accord of 1985, signed between the then Rajiv Gandhi government and the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) at the end of the six-year-long bloody Assam Agitation. The Accord says the illegal immigrants, irrespective of faith who entered Assam after March 24, 1971, are to be detected and deported.

Some opposition parties demanded that Assam be kept outside the purview of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), pointing out that it comes in conflict with the 1971 cut-off date.

By implementing CAA, the Centre sought to grant Indian citizenship to people from six non-Muslim communities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who migrated to India till December 31, 2014.

Congress, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) besides AASU and Assam Public Works (APW) welcomed the Supreme Court’s judgement.

“With this judgement, the court has ended the debate on whether 1971 or 1951 should be the basis to detect and deport foreigners. The government should drive out all illegal immigrants who came to Assam after March 25, 1971,” AASU president Utpal Sarma demanded.

He said the AASU as well as the BJP governments at the Centre and in Assam were not happy when only 19 lakh people were left out of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

“We moved the court seeking re-verification (of documents of NRC applicants) but the BJP governments did not. We demand that they file an affidavit in the court seeking re-verification. They should also speed up detecting the illegal immigrants who came after March 25, 1971 and drive them out,” Sarma categorically said.

State Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah viewed the judgement as the court reposing its faith in the historic Assam Accord. AIUDF MLA Rafiqul Islam observed that the court solved a long-standing issue.

“After this judgement, we want the government not to rehabilitate the post-1971 stream of immigrants in Assam. If the BJP loves them so much, it can rehabilitate them in Gujarat or other places,” Islam said.

Activist-turned-Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi urged the people of the state to accept the court’s judgement.

“The people of Assam have no other option but to accept this judgement. They will now have to unitedly decide on the deportation of all immigrants, irrespective of faith, who came to Assam after March 24, 1971,” Gogoi said.

AJP chief Lurinjyoti Gogoi said since the court validated 1971 as the base year to detect and deport illegal immigrants, the Centre should take steps to repeal CAA in Assam and implement Clause 6 of the Assam Accord forthright.

Clause 6 of the Accord says, “Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, as may be appropriate, shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.”

The APW, an NGO and one of the main petitioners for the updation of NRC, welcomed the court’s judgement but, at the same time, demanded 100% re-verification of NRC documents.

“The Central and Assam governments should file an affidavit in the Supreme Court seeking re-verification,” APW chief Abhijit Sarma said.

Source: Indian Express