Assam government warns police: Don't send those covered by the CAA to foreigners' tribunals.
The home and political department of Assam stated that instead of referring these individuals' cases to the foreigners' tribunal, it should counsel them to apply for Indian citizenship.
GUWAHATI: The state police have been instructed by the Assam government to cease pursuing cases against persecuted minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who are members of the Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi, and Christian communities and who entered the country prior to December 31, 2014. These individuals are eligible for Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which went into effect on March 11 of this year.
The home and political department of Assam wrote a letter to the border wing of the state police advising them to apply for Indian citizenship instead of taking their cases to the foreigners' tribunal.
Indian citizenship is available to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, Jains, and Parsis who entered India on or before December 31, 2014, as per the Citizenship by Agreement (CAA).
In a letter dated July 5, the home and political department informed the border police that "the border police may not forward cases of persons belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi, Jain and Christian community who entered India prior to December 31, 2014, directly to foreigners’ tribunals” because of the aforementioned legal provision.
It stated that such individuals ought to be counseled to apply for Indian citizenship and to keep a separate file on them.
But regardless of their faith, those who entered Assam from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, or Pakistan after December 31, 2014, will not be eligible for this preferential treatment. "Upon detection, they ought to be promptly referred to the jurisdictional foreigners' tribunal for additional proceedings," stated Partha Pratim Majumdar, the home and political secretary, in a letter addressed to Harmeet Singh, the special DGP (Border).
Foreigners' tribunals are Assamese-only quasi-judicial organizations that determine whether or not individuals whose names are absent from the state's National Register of Citizens (NRC) or who are thought to be undocumented immigrants are Indian. At the moment, the state has one hundred of these tribunals.
What's Your Reaction?
