CAA extension insult to Assam Accord and Assamese sentiment: Opposition

Opposition parties in Assam have strongly criticised the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in the state over the recent order allowing non-Muslims from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan to stay in India without valid travel documents if they entered the country till 2024.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) provides a pathway to Indian citizenship for Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis from the three neighbouring countries who arrived on or before December 31, 2014, after residing in India for five years. However, the September 1 notification extended the cut-off by a decade, enabling immigrants to remain in the country until 2024.

The Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the CPI(M) termed the move a direct violation of the Assam Accord, which had fixed March 25, 1971, as the cut-off date for identifying and deporting illegal migrants.

Also Read: Debabrata Saikia urges AASU to lead strong opposition against CAA, citing threat to Assam Accord

AJP president Lurinjyoti Gogoi accused the BJP of endangering the Assamese community’s survival for electoral gains. “By extending the CAA deadline by another 10 years, the BJP has increased Assam’s burden from 43 years of foreigners to 53 years. This is a grave injustice and the biggest crime ever committed against the Assamese people,” he said. AJP workers staged a protest at the party headquarters in Guwahati, burning copies of the order in a symbolic show of defiance.

Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Assembly, Debabrata Saikia of the Congress, said the notification would allow nearly five lakh illegal foreigners to remain in the state, undermining the Assam Accord. “The extension is an insult to the Accord and to every Assamese sentiment. We demand its immediate withdrawal or at least exemption for Assam,” he added.

The AAP also condemned the decision, with its state general secretary Rajib Saikia calling it “dictatorial” and urging the Centre to roll back the order. The CPI(M) echoed the demand, warning that the move would have dangerous consequences for Assam’s social fabric.

Meanwhile, officials said the notification, issued under the recently implemented Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, was intended to provide relief to many, particularly Hindus from Pakistan who entered India after 2014 and were uncertain about their status.