Despite the hue and cry being made time and again by several sections of society, Assam could expel only 2,446 Bangladeshis since 1986.
State Minister for Assam Accord Implementation (in-charge) told this to the State Assembly recently while replying to a question raised by Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) 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 in Assam.
“Out of the total 59,512 Bangladeshis, 2,446 Bangladeshis were expelled. Altogether 42,460 identified as Bangladeshis were absconding,” the Minister said while adding that 13,900 Bangladeshis registered their names with Foreigners Regional Registration Offices, 636 filed written appeals and 70 were lodged in detention camps.
The poor rate of expulsion assumes significance as the issue of illegal immigration from Bangladesh had been a burning issue in Assam and the issue remained the most important one in the poll manifestos of almost all the political parties in Assam, particularly after 1979.
The State had witnessed the longest students’ movement, known as Assam Movement, between 1979 to 1985, seeking the subsequent State Governments in Assam to detect and deport the illegal Bangladeshi immigrants living in the State.