The Conspiracy continues
The Foreigners Act was designed to check unauthorized entry of foreigners into India. The Act clearly provided that if a person is suspected of being a foreigner staying unauthorisedly in India, a notice would be issued to him and the onus would be on such person to justify that he is not a foreigner but a legitimate Indian citizen. In 1983, the IMDT Act was enacted only for Assam. It was an exception to the Foreigners Act. The rules of the game were changed. Instead of the onus of proof being on the alleged foreigner, it was now an onus on the state to prove that any citizen is foreigner before deporting him. Assam was the worst affected province on account of illegal immigration. Its demographic character was changed. The Assamese were suffering and yet the Congress Party conspired to make it a haven for foreigners.
The Supreme Court by its judgement dated 12/7/2005 struck down the IMDT Act as one which almost encouraged a silent invasion of India. The government was directed to identify and deport the foreigners on the basis of the Foreigners Act. Instead of allowing the procedure under the Foreigners Act to prevail, the government now changed the rules framed under the Foreigners Act. The rules were changed to introduce the same mischief which was available in the IMDT Act. The rules now placed the onus of proof in relation to an alleged foreigner in Assam to be on the state rather than the alleged foreigner for establishing his illegitimate stay. The Supreme Court by its judgement dated 5/12/2006 held this rule to be ultra vires of the Act. Notwithstanding this situation, the government continues to unabashedly look in the other direction.
Today, 676.47 km. of India-Bangladesh border remains unfenced. The population in most border districts of Assam is undergoing a significant change. 11 out of 27 districts are today a majority of persons living who are illegal immigrants. I am not referring to the ethnic minorities of Assam in this category. Districts like Dubri and Kokrajhar have been significantly affected. Dubri on the border of Bangladesh has over 70 percent illegal immigration affected. The official figures of 2011 Census have not been declared. This figure is expected to increase to beyond 80 percent. Do we not see security threat in this district? These are areas which are adjacent to the Chicken’s neck and therefore, constitute a serious threat to India’s security.
The government’s approach has been wholly disappointing. The government is treating this as a transient law and order problem. All government’s comments have been in that direction. The minister has to display a vision. The Congress party has to change its policy. It does not have to import illegal immigrants to increase its vote bank. The cost of this is being paid by the people of Assam and India. This crisis is not a law and order problem. It is not an Assamese problem. It is a direct and inequitable consequence of a structured and conspired demographic invasion of Assam. By merely bringing army for a few days or organizing relief camps you will not solve the problem. The government must stop this illegal immigration; the entire border must be fenced; the detection and deportation must begin forthwith.