Assembly turns spotlight on ‘D’ voters, Oppn seeks closure of detention centre

Guwahati: Highlighting the plight of the ‘D’ (Doubtful) voters, the Opposition on Wednesday demanded closure of Assam’s sole detention centre, now called a transit camp, and tabling of the NRC report in the Assembly.

During a discussion on the contentious issue, AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam claimed that lakhs of people were declared ‘D’ voters without officials visiting their homes and proper verification.

“There are thousands of cases when only one person in a family is declared ‘D’ voter but his siblings and parents are still Indian citizens. This has ruined so many families and shattered the dreams of thousands of youths,” he added.

Islam demanded formation of an all-party team by the Speaker to study the conditions of the ‘D’ voters and living in the detention centre.

“Even the Foreigners Tribunals have declared verdicts despite respondents submitting enough proof. These courts are very biased and justice is not done there,” Islam said.

CPI(M) member Manoranjan Talukdar said the BJP had promised to close down the detention centre before coming to power, but it has not done so and continues the facility in Goalpara district of Assam.

“All Indians languishing at the centre should be immediately released and the foreigners should be deported. The detention centre should be demolished. Many decisions are taken ex-parte there and the Supreme Court has also questioned this,” he added.

Independent MLA Akhil Gogoi drew the attention of the House that not only Hindus and Muslims were declared as ‘D’ voters, but people from the Nepali, Koch-Rajbongshi, Hajong, Garo and Rabha communities were also put under the category.

“This entire problem would have been sorted out if the National Register of Citizens (NRC) were completed. The NRC found who was Indian and who was not. But it is just lying. If the NRC is wrong, please rectify it.

The final NRC was released on August 31, 2019 by excluding 19,06,657 people. However, it has not been notified by the Registrar General of India yet, leaving the document without any official validity.

“I request the government to table the NRC in the Assembly. Then we can recommend it to the Centre and settle this foreigner issue permanently,” he added.

Stating that the detention centre is against human rights, Gogoi also claimed that very few foreigners have been deported after Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma came to power compared to his predecessor Sarbananda Sonowal, while it was the highest during Congress CM Tarun Gogoi’s tenure.