GUWAHATI: Former Assam chief minister and senior leader of Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) Prafulla Kumar Mahanta has expressed concern over inflow of suspected illegal migrants to Assam after they have been driven out of neighbouring states, including Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya post publication of the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam.
Mahanta said that Assam had remained a dumping ground for illegal migrants for decades and the problem is likely to be compounded further if illegal migrants continue to come into Assam.
He pointed out that the present Assam government is a mute spectator on the issue while adding that the AGP too is a key constituent of the BJP-led government in Assam.
“The Operation Clean Drive launched by All Arunachal Pradesh Students Union evicted 2,205 ILP violators across Arunachal who have entered Assam,” he said.
Similarly, a day after the final draft of NRC was published, in Meghalaya, NGOs set up infiltration check gates at different locations to detect illegal migrants from entering the state and many were pushed back to Assam, Mahanta said.
Mahanta also criticised the Assam State BJP president Ranjeet Dass’ comment that the final updated NRC was unlikely to be published by the end of this year given that the Foreigners’ Tribunals are taking a long time to dispose of cases pending before them.
The final draft NRC, which was published on July 30, has not included names of those persons against whom cases were pending in various Foreigners’ Tribunals in the state.
The Supreme Court is monitoring the progress of updating the 1951 NRC with the midnight of March 24, 1971 as the cut-off date.
The court had earlier directed NRC coordinator of Assam to complete the process and publish the final updated NRC by the end of December this year.
