Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma urges Jharkhand to address issue of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh

JAMSHEDPUR: Assam chief minister (CM) Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday asked his Jharkhand counterpart Hemant Soren to prepare a report on the present status of illegal immigrants into the state from Bangladesh. He suggested the Jharkhand govt to seek assistance from the Union govt in identifying and deporting the infiltrators.
Questioning Hemant’s silence on the issue, especially when the Jharkhand high court has directed the state to act against the infiltrators, the Assam CM said, “Hemant should take up the matter at the Central ministerial level.I will cooperate with Hemant if he faces any problem.”
Sarma said illegal migrants pose a significant threat to Jharkhand and that the present govt should acknowledge this pressing issue. He warned that if the problem was not addressed, Jharkhand could face a situation like that in Assam in the next 30 years. He also highlighted the issue of infiltrators acquiring the property of tribals in the Santhal Pargana region, leading to demographic changes. “During my visit to Pakur, I found pressure building on the tribals in Taranagar and Gopinathpur villages to leave their ancestral land and go away,” he stated.
Citing the rise in Bangladeshi infiltrators from 20% to 50-60% in several assembly constituencies of Santhal Pargana over the past 20 years, the Assam CM stressed upon the importance of identifying and deporting infiltrators and implement measures to prevent the influx. He warned that failure to do so could lead to a situation where the Jharkhand CM would have to surrender to the infiltrators in the future.
Asserting that he was not politicising the issue, Sarma reiterated that it was a matter concerning the lives, land, and property of the native tribal population.
Assam, according to Sarma, has been grappling with the consequences of illegal migration from Bangladesh, and the state govt has taken several steps to address the issue over the past five years.