People's Democracy

 CPI(M) Assam Unit On IMDT Act

The Assam state committee of the CPI(M) issued the following statement immediately after the Supreme Court judgement on Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals), Act, 1983 delivered on July 12, 2005:

THE Supreme Court of India has given an important judgement by striking down the IM (DT) Act. The minority people of the state regarded the Act as a safeguard to their citizenship since the IMDT Act provided judicial protections to the genuine Indian citizens while detecting and deporting the illegal foreigners’ from Assam. Now, obviously, a sense of fear and suspicion has developed amongst the minorities following the scrapping of the Act by the Supreme Court.

The Assam State committee of the CPI(M) has persistently been demanding detection and deportation of illegal migrants who entered Assam on or after March 25, 1971. The Party has also been expressing its opinion that judicial scrutiny should be followed while determining the citizenship of a person. Now, after the repeal of the IMDT Act, the responsibility to safeguard the rights of the minorities lie with the central and state governments. Both the governments should take appropriate measures to ensure the civil and democratic rights of the genuine Indian citizens belonging to the minority communities. The state committee of the CPI(M) demands that the central government should take appropriate steps to ensure the rights of all sections of the people of Assam — both majority and minority communities and also for speedy development of the state.