Guwahati, 5 September (HS): Assam BJP Spokesperson Dr. Devajit Mahanta on Friday accused the Congress and other opposition parties of deliberately misinterpreting the Immigrant Foreigners [Relief] 2025 Proclamation to create unrest ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. Addressing a press conference at the Assam Pradesh BJP office, Dr. Mahanta warned that attempts to reignite agitation in the state would ultimately be judged in the “people’s court.”

Recalling the turmoil during the CAA movement, he said that political opportunism had cost Assam innocent lives and cultural heritage, including the damage to Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra. He criticized the opposition for spreading fear that crores of foreigners would flood Assam after CAA’s implementation. “It has been over five years, and only 12 people applied for citizenship in Assam, of which three were granted. The opposition’s claims were nothing but political propaganda,” he remarked.

Dr. Mahanta further pointed out that in 2012, the then Congress leadership in Assam, including Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and APCC president Anjan Dutta, had themselves advocated Indian citizenship for Hindus facing religious persecution in Bangladesh.

Clarifying the 2025 notification, he said it does not extend the citizenship application deadline to 2024, as claimed by the opposition. Instead, it merely allows Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan to legally reside in India. He asserted that this has no adverse impact on Assam’s demography.

Appealing to the people of Assam, Dr. Mahanta urged them not to fall prey to the “anti-national politics” of the Congress and its allies but to support the BJP’s efforts toward building a progressive and developed state.---------

Hindusthan Samachar / Sriprakash