30,000 'declared foreigners' disappeared, more to be pushed back to Bangladesh: Assam CM

Guwahati: Stating that 30,000 people disappeared after being declared foreigners by foreigner tribunals across Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said the drive to "push back the illegal migrants" to Bangladesh will continue.

"As 30,000 people disappeared after being declared foreigners, we will send them back wherever we get them. The drive for detection and deportation of foreigners was unofficially stopped due to the process to update the NRC. Now we have decided to resume the drive and push them back to Bangladesh. We have already pushed back several such persons, who were declared foreigners by tribunals, and they did not move an appeal in the Gauhati High Court within the stipulated time. More such persons will be pushed back similarly," Sarma told reporters in Guwahati on Friday.

Sarma's announcement came despite Bangladesh's objections to the ongoing drive to "push back illegal migrants" to the neighbouring nation. Border Guards Bangladesh detained several such persons, saying India did not share their address details for verification.

Assam shares a 398km border with Bangladesh, but some stretches have remained unfenced, aiding illegal migration and cross-border crime.

"But we have not pushed back those who informed us that their appeal petitions are pending in the high court and the Supreme Court," he said.

Sarma said those who were found trying to cross the border recently were also similarly pushed back to Bangladesh. Yesterday, 35 Bangladeshis tried to illegally cross the border in Meghalaya and Silchar in Assam. They were not allowed to cross and were pushed back," he said. "Similarly, the Centre will also send some through talks with Bangladesh."

Harassment fear:

The drive, however, has triggered fear of harassment of Indian citizens on the pretext of the detection of "illegal migrants" from Bangladesh. Badruddin Ajmal-led AIUDF recently told Assam Governor that innocent Muslims in Assam were harassed during the drive. Congress and other Opposition parties said the detection should be based on the Assam Accord of 1985, which decided March 24, 1971, as the cut-off date. They say the drive to update the NRC should be completed instead of carrying out deportation haphazardly. The Assam Accord was signed following the anti-foreigners movement between 1979 and 1985.

Indigenous people have been demanding that the ruling BJP fulfil its promise of solving Assam's long-standing problem of illegal migration from Bangladesh. They say "illegal migrants" have posed a serious threat to the identity and culture of the ethnic communities.