GUWAHATI, Sept. 4: The Assam Pradesh Congress on Thursday lashed out at the BJP government, accusing it of “hatching a deep-rooted conspiracy to destroy the very existence of the Assamese people by nullifying the Assam Accord in order to legalise foreigners.”
The accusation comes after the ministry of home affairs (MHA), through a notification issued on September 1, 2025, extended the deadline for granting Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to December 31, 2024.
Addressing a media conference at Rajiv Bhavan here, Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, and former Rajya Sabha MP, Ripun Bora criticised the BJP government in Assam, and its ally, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), branding them “anti-national” for their politics of appeasement and vote banks.
Speaking at the briefing, senior party leader Bora alleged: “The BJP has no intention of stopping illegal infiltration. By extending the cut-off date under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act from December 31, 2014, to December 31, 2024, the government is providing yet another safe passage to foreigners, turning Assam into a grazing ground for outsiders. This proves that infiltration into Assam continues even today.”
He reminded that before becoming Prime Minister, Narendra Modi had promised in 2014 that all illegal migrants in Assam would be forced to leave the state. “But instead of fulfilling that promise, the BJP has kept the issue alive only for political gains, sacrificing Assamese language, culture, and identity in the process,” Bora said, calling the move a violation of the Constitution, the Supreme Court’s rulings, and the Assam Accord.
The Congress leader demanded that the Assam government strongly oppose implementation of this ordinance in the state and press the Centre to exclude Assam from its purview.
Bora further questioned: “If the government could suddenly extend the cut-off period for CAA by ten years, what guarantee is there that it won’t be extended further in future?” He expressed astonishment that despite such threats to Assamese identity, the AGP remained silent, blinded by the lure of power.
In the same vein, Debabrata Saikia described the September 1 notification as a “second version of CAA.” He accused the BJP of launching a dangerous conspiracy to wipe out the identity of the Assamese people in the name of “one nation, one policy, and vote bank politics.”
Referring to earlier assurances, Saikia noted that while the rest of India uses 1951 as the citizenship cut-off year, Assam has 1971 under the Accord. “But today, that very Accord signed by Rajiv Gandhi is being demolished, insulting the Assamese people,” he said.
The Congress leaders confirmed that the party has already challenged CAA in the Supreme Court, where the case is sub judice, and questioned how the government could issue such a notification when the matter is pending in court.