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Guwahati: The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) on Thursday strongly condemned the Centre’s Gazette Notification that extends the cut-off date for citizenship eligibility under the Immigration and Foreigners Exemption Order, calling it a blatant “vote-bank strategy” by the BJP.
Addressing the press, senior Congress leader Ripun Bora said, “Under CAA-2019, non-Muslim migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh who had entered India illegally up to December 31, 2014, were eligible for citizenship. Now, through this new order, the BJP-led government has extended the cut-off date by another decade, till December 31, 2024. This clearly paves the way for more illegal entrants to be granted citizenship.”
Bora alleged that the notification itself proves infiltration into Assam is still continuing. “If foreigners can break the law and yet be forgiven, it only reflects BJP’s mindset. Has Assam become a dumping ground for the BJP?” he asked, demanding accountability from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The Congress stressed that though the Centre projects CAA as a pan-India law, its impact will be felt most in Assam, where illegal immigrants stand to gain directly. “This order makes it clear that BJP has no intention of stopping infiltration. They want to keep the issue alive for political mileage. During Congress rule, there was no such wave of infiltration. Who is allowing foreigners in today?” Bora questioned.
Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia went further, terming the notification a “second version of CAA.” He said, “Illegal entrants will now enjoy the same benefits as legitimate citizens. Even without documents, they will be treated as legal. This nullifies the Assam Accord and the safeguards it provided. The circular is nothing short of a second CAA.”
The APCC also demanded that the Assam government officially communicate to the Centre that the order should not be implemented in the state. “Mizoram and Meghalaya have already refused to implement CAA. Why has Assam’s Chief Minister failed to take a stand? The NRC was left incomplete only to accommodate new foreigners. Congress once gave safeguards to Assam, now BJP is dismantling them,” Bora added.
The party concluded by appealing to the people of Assam to “reject BJP’s divisive politics in the 2026 Assembly elections.”