AGENCIES
GUWAHATI, AUGUST 7
The Assam government on Wednesday told the Assembly that only the Centre could take a decision on granting asylum and Indian citizenship to Bangladeshi citizens, who entered the State due to alleged persecution.
The State government also tabled an extract from the minutes of a meeting of the Cabinet held on July 16 which noted the government request to the Centre to frame “a policy of granting asylum to those persons who were subjects of British India at the time of partition and who have had to face religious persecution and discrimination later compelling them to come to India for shelter.”
The Cabinet also noted that Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had submitted a memorandum to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on April 20, 2012 which submitted that “Indian citizens at the time of partition, who were compelled to leave the partitioned country due to religious persecution, atrocities and discrimination, deserve humanitarian consideration. Under the existing system and laws, no such persons are liable to face prosecution, expulsion and deportation.”Minister in-charge of Assam Accord Implementation Rockybul Hussain spelled out the government position in a written reply to a question by All India United Democratic Front legislator Aminul Islam if the State Government had recently taken any decision to grant asylum to Bangladeshi citizens, who have entered the State fearing for their lives. The AIUDF member also wanted to know if such Bangladeshi citizens would be granted Indian citizenship and how the government would determine if someone had come to the State because of threat to his or life or some other reasons and whether such a decision would not have an impact on Assam’s socio-economic situation.
In reply to another question raised Asom Gana Parishad member and former Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, the Minister said that between 1986 till May 31, 2014, altogether 59,512 Bangladeshis were identified by tribunals and courts. Of them, 2,446 Bangladeshis were expelled. Besides, 13,900 Bangladeshis registered their names with Foreigners Regional Registration Offices, 636 filed writ appeals and 70 were lodged in detention camps. Altogether 42,460 identified as Bangladeshis were absconding, the Minister added.
