"Assam to Expedite Foreigners' Detection and Expulsion", Says CM Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has outlined a comprehensive strategy to expedite the identification and expulsion of declared foreign nationals residing in the state. Addressing a press conference in Guwahati on Friday, CM Sarma emphasized the necessity of swift action in line with the Supreme Court's directive mandating the expulsion of declared foreigners.

The Chief Minister clarified that individuals who have been officially declared as foreigners but have not pursued legal appeals are being repatriated to Bangladesh. However, those with ongoing court cases are not being removed at this stage.

He said, “There are two kinds of foreigners in Assam. One kind of foreigners are those who are continuously ientering our state. The second is the declared foreign national. You must be aware of the Supreme Court ruling which has mandated the expulsion of declared foreigner by any means. The ones who have been declared foreigners but have not appealed in court, we have pushed them back to Bangladesh. But if someone has an ongoing court case, we haven’t touched them.”

He further stated that the detection and expulsion processes had been temporarily suspended during the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise but will now resume with increased urgency.

Sarma assured that the Government of India is engaged in discussions with Bangladesh to facilitate the return of these individuals, ensuring that the process adheres to legal and diplomatic protocols. The state government is committed to upholding the Supreme Court's orders while safeguarding the rights of all individuals involved.

“During the SP conference held in Dergaon, we had decided that we will speed up foreigner detection from now on. Since NRC process was ongoing, the detection was temporarily suspended. So in the next few days, there will be push back, detection and some will be sent after discussion between the Government of India and Bangladesh,” CM Sarma added.