How will you solve the issue of illegal immigrants across the country ?

Supreme Court questions the Union Government

New Delhi – The Supreme Court heard 17 petitions related to Section 6A of the Citizenship Act with regards to Bangladeshi intruders in Assam. The Court has sought data from the Union Government on citizenship granted to Bangladeshi immigrants in Assam between 1st January 1966 and 25th March 1971. A 5-member Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud gave a deadline to the Centre and the Assam Government to provide this information.

During the hearing, the Supreme Court commented on the issue of illegal immigrants the country is facing, saying, “We cannot allow illegal immigrants to enter India indefinitely. This will put a huge strain on the local infrastructure. The Union Government should provide information on how many illegal immigrants they have granted citizenship to and how many have been sent back”.

Questions asked by the Bench !

• How many individuals were counted as foreigners from 1966 to 1971 ?
• What is the number of Foreign Tribunals set up by the Union Government to adjudicate cases of illegal migrants ? (The citizenship of immigrants is heard by these Tribunals.)
• How many cases are pending and how many have been settled ?
• While West Bengal has a large border with Bangladesh, why did the Government treat Assam differently by keeping West Bengal out of the ambit of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act ?
• Are there any statistics to claim that infiltration in West Bengal is less than Assam ? Why is there a perception that this problem is in Assam and not in West Bengal ?

It is difficult to identify the Bangladeshi illegal immigrants due to their similarity with the local Bengali citizens : Union Government

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that this problem arose in Assam because the culture there is very different from Bangladesh. Immigrants there were easy to identify; however, the food, clothing and culture of the natives of West Bengal and the illegal immigrants are very similar. Therefore, it is difficult to identify them in West Bengal.