BJP accuses opposition of misleading people on Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) order 

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The state BJP accused the Congress and other opposition parties of deliberately misleading the public ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections by misinterpreting the Immigrant Foreigners [Relief] Directive 2025.

Addressing the media on Friday at the BJP state office, party spokesperson Dr. Devajit Mahanta alleged that the opposition is attempting to “pollute the peaceful atmosphere of Assam” by reviving agitation politics. He said the Congress, Raijor Dal, and Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) must answer to the people for trying to manipulate facts.

Recalling the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests, Dr. Mahanta asked what benefit the people of Assam had received from the agitation. He pointed out that the AJP emerged from the anti-CAA movement, only to ally with the same Congress party that had “fired bullets on Assamese youth during the Assam Agitation, killing 855 martyrs.” He further said that emotional politics had led to the destruction of Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra and unnecessary loss of innocent lives.

Dr. Mahanta also dismissed the opposition’s earlier claims that CAA would allow “1.9 crore Bangladeshis” to flood Assam. “It has been five years and seven months since CAA was implemented, and only 12 people applied for citizenship in Assam, out of which three were granted. This clearly proves that the agitation was only a political stepping-stone for some individuals,” he said.

Citing history, the BJP spokesperson reminded that in April 20, 2012, the then Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had officially urged the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to grant Indian citizenship to Hindus fleeing religious persecution in Bangladesh. The very next day, then Assam Congress president Anjan Dutta also endorsed the same position in a press conference alongside senior leader Ripun Bora.

Clarifying the contents of the Immigrant Foreigners [Relief] Directive 2025, Dr. Mahanta said that contrary to the opposition’s claims, the notification has not extended the citizenship application cut-off date from December 31, 2014, to December 31, 2024. Instead, it merely allows people from six minority communities—Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians—from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan to reside in India with government recognition.

“This notification has no impact on Assam’s demography,” Dr. Mahanta asserted, urging the people not to fall prey to “anti-national propaganda” by the opposition. He appealed to the people of Assam to support the BJP in building a “developed and progressive Assam.”

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