- Assam govt reported 193 declared foreigners pushed back to Bangladesh in two years
- Total 1679 illegal immigrants repatriated from Assam to Bangladesh between July 2022-June 2024
- Pushbacks done under Immigrants Expulsion Act, 1950, with human rights safeguards claimed
During the question hours of the ongoing budget session of the Assam Assembly, for the first time, the Assam government has come on record in terms of the number of suspected illegal immigrants from Bangladesh who have been 'pushed back' in the past one year, invoking the 1950 Immigrants Expulsion Act revived in the last two years.
Bangladesh has been vehemently opposing the 'pushback' mechanism now adopted by India.
Replying in the state legislative assembly The Assam government has said that a total of 193 people declared foreigners by Assam's Foreigners Tribunals have been "pushed" into Bangladesh over the last two years, including 67 'declared foreigners' who have been sent across the border by
The Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma submitted the data to the legislative assembly on Monday.
In a reply to AIUDF MLA Badruddin Ajmal, Sarma said a total of 1679 illegal immigrants have repatriated (deported/ sent back/ expelled) from Assam to Bangladesh in the last two years.
Sarma 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.
The Chief Minister stated the state ensured that the 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).
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 illegal by higher courts.
