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Will send back illegal foreigners within 7 days of tribunal order: Assam CM
Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the Assam government has identified and pushed back 2,000 foreign nationals.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday informed that nearly 2,000 illegal foreigners have been pushed back across the international border with Bangladesh in the past few months under provisions of a 1950 law, the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam), Act (IEAA).
Addressing media persons on the first day of the new year, Sarma also mentioned that now on, once a person is declared an ‘illegal foreigner’ by a foreigners’ tribunal (FT), the state machinery will push them back across the border within a week.
“In the past few months, we have pushed back nearly 2,000 (illegal) foreigners through the (international) border. This would definitely result in reduction of entry of foreigners illegally into Assam,” he said.
“We have taken a decision that those declared foreigners by FT would be pushed back within seven days so that the process (of sending them back) don’t delayed with them appealing against the order in high court and Supreme Court,” Sarma added.
He mentioned that a “no-compromising attitude” in dealing with illegal foreigners was lacking in past, but with SC seeking expulsion of illegal foreigners and upholding the IEAA, 1950, the state government made pushing back illegal foreigners a government policy.
“I feel with these measures in place there will be a marked change in the issue of illegal foreigners,” Sarma said.
Foreigners’ tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies exclusive to Assam which adjudicate whether a person suspected to be illegal immigrant is Indian or not. There are 100 such tribunals in the state at present.
The border wing of Assam Police is entrusted with the task of detecting and deporting illegal immigrants who entered the state and prevention of infiltrations. They also forward cases of people suspected to be illegal immigrants to the foreigners’ tribunals who adjudicate whether a person is an Indian or not based on documents.
In October 2024, a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court had upheld the validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act (CA), 1955, which grants Indian citizenship to those who entered Assam from Bangladesh prior to March 24, 1971 (when Bangladesh came into being).
The bench had also held Section 6A of CA read with an earlier legislation, Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act (IEAA), 1950, was “sufficient to address the issue of illegal immigration into Assam”. Under IEAA, district authorities in Assam are empowered by the central government to evacuate any person who is found to be an illegal immigrant.
Lumpsum payout for flagship scheme
The CM announced that in view of the assembly elections due in March-April this year, a change has been made in the payouts of the flagship Orunudoi scheme through which the state government provides ₹1,250 to vulnerable women nearly 3.8 million households every month.
“Distributing money to beneficiaries under Orunodoi near elections is a contentious issue which sometimes the opposition also question us on that. In view to be above such controversy, we will give each beneficiary an advance amount of ₹8000 as lumpsum on February 20 as a gift for the coming (Bohag) Bihu (Assamese new year/festival),” he said.
The CM mentioned that beneficiaries under the scheme won’t get their monthly sum in January this year and the lumpsum amount would be given in February for both months and March and April. He said that though the amount for the four months total ₹5,000, the state government would provide an extra sum of ₹3,000 as ‘gift for Bihu’. From May, once the election process is over, they will routinely start getting ₹1,250 every month.
Sarma said that seven million ration card users who get 1kg each of lentil, sugar and salt each month at ₹117 will now get the three items at ₹100.
Special court for Zubeen Garg case
While highlighting the government’s achievements, Sarma termed the death of cultural icon Zubeen Garg under suspicious circumstances in Singapore in September and the mass outpouring of collective grief it witnesses as the saddest thing in 2025 and assured support for proper trial of the murder case.
“In order to ensure that timely justice is provided in the trial of the murder of Zubeen Garg, the state government has decided to appoint a special public prosecutor who will be aided by 3-4 senior advocates in the state. Once that special public prosecutor is appointed we will appeal to the Gauhati high court to create a special court to exclusively handle the trial of the Zubeen case.
In a long post on social media on Tuesday, Zubeen’s wife, Garrima Saikia Garg had sought a fast-track trial in the singer’s alleged murder case while raising serious questions over the roles of his manager Siddharth Sharma and event organiser Shyamkannu Mahanta, (both accused of murder).
Saikia urged authorities to constitute a fast-track court or a special bench with daily hearings exclusively for the case. She also appealed for the formation of a strong team of public prosecutors, including senior advocates with public credibility, to ensure that none of the seven accused escape accountability
Focus on identity and development
With assembly elections due in few months, the CM said that the government’s focus will remain on both protecting the identity of indigenous population of the state by evicting illegal encroachers from government lands, securing land rights for indigenous people while focussing on rapid development in infrastructure and investments to create jobs.
“Our politics will hinge on both on the question of preserving our identity as well as rapid development of the state. We don’t see development in isolation. If a state can’t protect its identity mere development won’t suffice. If we are not able to protect our identity, benefits of the development will go to people who don’t deserve it.
