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The Assam government on Thursday said over 47,900 foreigners have been detected in the state from 1971 to 2014, out of which more than 43 per cent are Hindus. In a written reply to a query by AGP MLA Ponakan Baruah, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the Foreigners Tribunal (FT) has declared 47,928 people as foreigners between 1971 and 2014. Out of them, 27,309 were Muslims, 20,613 Hindus and six belonged to other religions, he said. The CM said the highest number of foreigners was detected in Cachar. Out of 10,152 declared foreigners, 8,139 were Hindus and the remaining 2,013 were Muslims. As per the Assam Accord, names of all foreigners coming to the state on or after March 25, 1971 would be detected and deleted from electoral rolls and steps would be taken to deport them. Sarma said that according to the 2011 census, the state had a total Assamese speaking population of 1.51 crore, making up 48.38 per cent of the 3.12 crore residents. There were 90.24 lakh Bengali speakin
The indigenous people of Assam can never accept the CAA, which will be a critical issue in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, asserted Dibrugarh parliamentary constituency's opposition candidate Lurinjyoti Gogoi. The illegal influx of foreigners has been a long-standing cause for concern in Assam, and the BJP has now legalised it with this act, which is unacceptable to the people, Gogoi told PTI in an interview, amid campaigning here. "Assam has borne the burden of illegal foreigners till 1971, and now, another 43 years till 2014 has been added to it, he said. "How can the people accept this? There was a long-drawn agitation in the state against illegal influx and with the CAA, the identity of the Assamese is at stake, Gogoi claimed. The United Opposition Forum Assam (UOFA) had announced Gogoi, the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) president, as the candidate for the Dibrugarh Lok Sabha seat, from where Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal is contesting as a BJP nominee. The Centre had in March
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will commence hearing on October 17 to examine the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act relating to illegal immigrants in Assam. Section 6A in the Citizenship Act was inserted as a special provision to deal with the citizenship of people covered by the Assam Accord. The provision provides that those who have come to Assam on or after January 1, 1966 but before March 25, 1971 from specified territories, including Bangladesh, as per the Citizenship Act amended in 1985, and since then are residents of Assam. They must register themselves under section 18 for citizenship. As a result, the provision fixes March 25, 1971 as the cut-off date for granting citizenship to Bangladeshi migrants in Assam. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud noted that nodal counsels have prepared common compilation in the matter. However, common compilation needs to be streamlined. "A common index shall be prepar