Asom CM claims expelled people were Indian citizens

Guwahati, Jul 31 (UNI) Asom Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today claimed that all the 3,000 people expelled from neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, allegedly of suspected nationality, were Indian citizens.

''The state government has verified that they are genuine citizens,'' Mr Gogoi told a news conference here.

He said, ''38 people under Barpeta police station were found to be of doubtful citizenship yesterday and verification process was on.'' He informed that the government had decided to publish the names and addresses of the expelled people as the public could verify their credentials for themselves.

''I reiterate that the government will not allow Asom to be made into a dumping ground of foreigners,'' he asserted.

The chief minister said the government will take all steps to detect and deport foreigners as per the Assam Accord, adding that the cut off date for branding a Bangladeshi national foreigner would be March 25, 1971. He, however, stated firmly that no harassment of genuine citizens would be allowed and the government stood committed to protecting of its legitimate citizens.

On the matter of the expelled people from the neighbouring states, Mr Gogoi said many of them were found to be not in possession of Inner Line Permit necessary to work in those states, but all were bona fide Indian citizens.

He said he had taken up the matter with his counterparts in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. He urged the various organisations, including the All Assam Students' Union (AASU), All Assam Bodo Students' Union, Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad and Bharatiya Janata Yuba Morcha, not to dub all those expelled people as foreigners only because they were labourers of a religious minority community. ''If anyone has any doubt regarding the nationality of another person, he should approach the government and we will get it verified,'' Mr Gogoi added.

Referring to the All Assam Muslim Students' Union(AAMSU) statement that Assamese people would be expelled from minority-dominated districts of the state, Mr Gogoi cautioned the students' group to refrain from making such statements.

''The statement is indeed a provocative one and the government will not allow anyone to create disharmony or tension among the people,'' he added.

He said the work to update the National Register of Citizens(NRC) was on and the government was mulling other steps, like compulsory registration of births and deaths, for better record maintenance.

UNI