Assam Opposition leader Debabrata Saikia urges Centre to intervene in alleged illegal deportations of Indian citizens to Bangladesh, calling the pushbacks unconstitutional, inhumane, and communal. Saikia warns of judicial violations and demands immediate halt and proper verification protocols to prevent statelessness and human rights abuses.
Assam’s Leader of the Opposition, Debabrata Saikia, has strongly criticized the state government for allegedly conducting “unconstitutional detentions and illegal pushbacks” of Indian citizens along the Indo-Bangladesh border. In a formal letter to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Saikia urged immediate central intervention to halt what he termed a gross violation of constitutional and human rights standards.
Saikia expressed deep concern over what he described as a “push back drive” initiated by Assam Police beginning May 23. According to his statement, hundreds of Indian citizens—many of whom are not facing any legal proceedings or questions over their citizenship—have been detained arbitrarily, without judicial scrutiny or proper due process.
While some detainees have reportedly been released, Saikia criticized the opacity surrounding the operations, citing the lack of judicial oversight and transparency in the process. He referenced multiple media reports that claimed women and other individuals were forcibly sent into the no-man’s-land between India and Bangladesh. With Bangladeshi authorities refusing to accept these individuals, they now face the grave danger of being rendered stateless.
“This operation is in clear violation of India’s constitutional values and international human rights standards,” Saikia stated in his letter.
He further contended that the state government’s actions are in breach of the Union government’s own guidelines for deportation, which mandate “unambiguous verification of nationality” before repatriation. Saikia reminded the Centre that External Affairs Minister Jaishankar had earlier affirmed this protocol in Parliament.
Raising additional concerns about the communal overtones of the drive, the Congress leader alleged that the deportation efforts are disproportionately affecting Muslim communities, thereby threatening to deepen religious and social divides in the state. He linked the ongoing deportations to similar issues currently under consideration by the Supreme Court, arguing that any repatriation during the pendency of such cases undermines the judicial process.
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“Pushing Indian citizens into no-man’s-land without verification is unconstitutional and fundamentally inhumane,” Saikia said in a public statement.
He concluded with a strong warning, saying, “More lives will be destroyed if the government fails to act against these reckless and illegal actions.”
Saikia has called on the Centre to immediately suspend all deportation activities in the region and to institute a transparent, verifiable process for confirming nationality—emphasizing the need for both constitutional integrity and human compassion.
