"CAA will not resolve Hindu Bengali issues in Assam," says TMC MP Sushmita Dev

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Sushmita Dev has questioned Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s recent remarks on the status of cases against Bengali-speaking people pending in Foreigners Tribunals in Assam.

Addressing the media, Dev referred to Sarma’s reported statement that such cases cannot be withdrawn except under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), while also noting his assurance to drop similar cases against members of the Gorkha and Rajbongshi communities. “I congratulate the Gorkha and Rajbongshi brothers and sisters for this,” she said, “but I must tell the Bengalis of Assam what the CAA actually says.”

Dev explained that the CAA, enacted in 2019, was presented by the BJP as a safeguard for Hindu Bengalis in Assam, with assurances from Prime Minister Narendra Modi that they would be protected from deportation, eviction, or being sent back to Bangladesh. However, she emphasised that Section 6(B) of the Act clearly requires individuals with pending Foreigners Tribunal cases to submit a written application to the Government of India for citizenship.

“It does not automatically bar proceedings in the tribunal,” Dev said, adding that cases would only be withdrawn if the Government of India approves and registers the applicant as a citizen. She further noted that while the law states that political and social rights cannot be taken away during the pendency of such applications, the process still demands that applicants formally declare themselves as Bangladeshi.

“How many Hindu Bangladeshis will be willing to do that?” Dev asked, reiterating her long-held position that the CAA will not address the concerns of Hindu Bengalis in Assam.