AIUDF MLA Mazibur Rahman Accuses Assam Government of Harassing Citizens Over Pushback Policy

Speaking to ANI, Rahman said the issue was raised by Leader of the Opposition Wazed Ali Choudhury in the Assembly, but the ruling party failed to respond to the matter.

"The Leader of the Opposition, Wazed Ali Choudhury, raised this matter in the Assembly. However, the ruling party did not pay any attention. We even demonstrated in front of the Speaker, but they still did not pay any attention. They are supporting this policy," Rahman said on Tuesday.

Describing the matter as a vital issue, the AIUDF MLA said the Opposition had repeatedly appealed to the Speaker and Chief Minister to ensure that Indian citizens were not targeted during the implementation of the policy.

"This is a vital issue, and we have repeatedly requested our Speaker and our Chief Minister not to push back or harass Indian citizens in the name of the pushback policy," he said.

Rahman clarified that his party did not oppose action against illegal immigrants, but insisted that genuine citizens should not be affected during the process.

"If there is even a single Bangladeshi national residing illegally in Assam, the government can take them into custody and deport them to Bangladesh. We have no objection to that. But in the name of identifying Bangladeshis, genuine citizens of the state of Assam are being harassed by the state government," he alleged.

The Assam government recently disclosed, for the first time, the number of illegal immigrants repatriated to Bangladesh under its pushback policy. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma informed the Assam Assembly that 1,679 illegal immigrants were sent back between July 2024 and June 2026, including 193 individuals who were declared foreigners by Foreigners Tribunals.

The state government stated that the repatriation process is being conducted under the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950. The disclosure came amid objections from Bangladesh regarding the pushback mechanism.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Monday set aside a series of Gauhati High Court orders that had upheld declarations of certain individuals as foreigners and sent the cases back to the concerned Foreigners Tribunals for fresh adjudication.

A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta clarified that it had not examined the merits of the appellants' claims regarding Indian citizenship. The bench further observed that the determination of citizenship and foreigner status "must be carried out through a fair, lawful and reasonable process".

The controversy over Assam's pushback policy has intensified discussions surrounding citizenship verification, deportation procedures, and protection of genuine citizens. The latest developments involving political allegations, government disclosures, and judicial intervention have brought renewed focus on the legal process governing foreigner identification in the state.