Assam: Only eight people have applied for citizenship under CAA so far, says CM Himanta

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: A big unrest brewed in the state in the name of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). But in the five months since it was implemented, only eight people have applied for Indian citizenship under the CAA in Assam.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “So far, only eight people have applied for citizenship under CAA. Of the eight, only two people appeared for the hearing. When the agitation on the CAA was going on, the agitators claimed that lakhs of people would apply for Indian citizenship through the CAA. But their assertions are turning out to be baseless, as only eight people have so far applied. However, five people died during the agitation. The leaders of the agitation have to reply as to their deaths. I had even asked the Hindu Bengalis in Barak Valley to apply for citizenship, but they refused and said they were Indian as they had come here before 1971. They said they will fight for their citizenship rights at the Foreigners Tribunals but will not apply under CAA.”

He further stated that anyone who came to India before 2015 has the first right to apply for citizenship, and if they do not apply, a case will be lodged against them.

“Anyone who came to India before 2015 has the first right to apply for citizenship under the CAA. If they don’t apply, we will lodge a case against them. This is a statutory instruction. We will deport those who came after 2015,” the CM said.

Regarding applicants who have ‘Foreigners Tribunals’ cases registered against them in Assam, he mentioned that if the cases were before 2015, they would be given a chance to apply for citizenship under CAA.

“If the cases are from before 2015, they have a chance to apply. If they don’t apply, proceedings will continue. We also requested the Hindu Bengalis in Assam to apply, but they said that they are Indian and would like to continue the proceedings rather than apply,” he said.

On Friday, July 5, Secretary to the Government of Assam Home and Political Department, Partha Pratim Majumdar, sent a letter to the Special Director General of Police (Border) of Assam’s Srimantapur, restricting the forwarding of cases of persons belonging to the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi, Jain, and Christian communities who entered India prior to December 31, 2014, directly to the Foreigners Tribunals.

“In view of the above provision of law, the border police may not forward cases of persons belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi, Jain, and Christian communities who entered India prior to December 31, 2014, directly to the Foreigners Tribunals... A separate register may be maintained for this category of persons,” the letter read.

However, the letter mentioned that there would be no differential treatment available to anyone who entered Assam from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, or Pakistan after December 31, 2014, irrespective of their religion, and if detected, they would be sent straight to the Foreigners Tribunal for further action.

“This differential treatment will not be available to persons who entered Assam from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, or Pakistan after December 31, 2014, irrespective of their religion. Once detected, they should be immediately forwarded to the jurisdictional Foreigners Tribunal for further action,” the letter stated. 

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