"Assam Pushed Back Over 330 Illegal Infiltrators": Himanta Sarma

Guwahati (Assam):

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that the state government was responsible for "pushing back" over 330 illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators in the last few months and intends to speed up the process.

Referring to the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act of 1950, Mr Sarma said that the attempt to filter out the illegal infiltrators would continue with the help of a special provision (of the Immigrants Act of 1950) that empowers district commissioners to identify and expel them.

"In our vigorous fight against illegal infiltration, we draw strength from a special provision, which empowers DCs to identify and expel infiltrators from Assam. We have pushed back over 330 illegal infiltrators in the last few months, and this operation will be expedited in the coming days," Mr Sarma said while addressing a one-day special session of the Assam Assembly.

In a veiled attack against Assam Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi, CM Sarma said that the state government has identified 2,600 accounts on social media that write about "Palestine and Assam", operating from Islamabad and Riyadh, and welcome a particular leader from the state.

He said that he would reveal information regarding such accounts to the press in the coming days.

"We have found around 2,600 Facebook accounts that write only about Palestine and Assam. They are operated from Islamabad, Riyadh and Saudi Arabia. They don't even welcome Rahul Gandhi, but welcome a particular leader of Assam. I have documents, and within 10-12 days, I will provide some such account information to the press," he said.

Moreover, Mr Sarma asserted that his identity as an Assamese comes before his post as the Chief Minister.

"I am an Assamese first and Chief Minister later, and all my actions will reflect that. In our journey of safeguarding the interests of Assam, we do not dither in taking inspiration from former CMs," he said.

The Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act of 1950 empowers the government to expel illegal immigrants from Assam, specifying procedures to identify and expel them. The act gives the power to order the expulsion of immigrants whose stay in Assam is "detrimental to the interests of the general public."