Over 1000 Being Kept in Detention Camps in Assam, Claims Congress

Guwahati, December 24, 2019:

Senior Congress leader from Assam, Debabrata Saikia, on Tuesday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for claiming that there are no detention camps or centres in India.

Saikia claimed that Prime Minister Modi has taken "falsehood to an entirely new level" by claiming that there are no detention camps or centres in India. Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma has tried to justify Shri Modi’s lie with the help of more lies by claiming at a press conference yesterday that the Central Government has had nothing to do with the setting up of Detention Camps and that such camps have been set up in Assam only on the basis of a High Court directive.

Saikia informed that the concept of setting up Detention Camps was first mooted in 1998, when Late Vajpayee was the Prime Minister. The Union Home Ministry issued a letter (No. 25019/3/97-F-III dated 2nd July, 1998) to all states and Union Territories, suggesting that such camps should be set up to restrict the movement of foreign nationals awaiting deportation.

Saikia stated that the Gauhati High Court also directed to state government to put person declared as foreigners by Foreigner Tribunal in Detention Camps, adding that there were 1145 inmates in those 6 camps as on 9 July, 2019.

According to data provided by the Government of Assam in the Assam Legislative Assembly, 28 inmates have died so far in these Detention Camps, Saikia stated, adding that out of these, only 3 had cited that their permanent address was in Bangladesh. "The remaining 25 were residents of various areas in Assam and they died in these camps after being labeled as Bangladeshis", Saikia added.

The senior Congress also slammed the 'unlawful detention' of many protesters of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act.

Saikia stated that many Congress workers have been booked under grievous charges on 'entirely false ground' in different parts of Assam during the anti-CAA movement. "This is over and above KMSS leaders, Jiten Dutta and Shrinkhal Chaliha. I had earlier conveyed data regarding unlawful detention of certain Congress workers and leaders in Majuli and Digboi", he said.

Saikia also alleged that the same fate in being faced by Congress workers and leaders in places like Margherita in Tinsukia districts in Upper Assam.

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Accusing the PM of lying to the people, Saikia alleged, "The people of Assam have witnessed how he lied about all foreigners having to pack their bags and baggage to leave Assam on the heels of the BJP coming to power in 2016; implementing the Assam Accord in "letter and spirit"; reviving the Nagaon and Cachar paper mills; bringing back all black money stashed abroad and depositing Rs.15 lakh in the bank account of each citizen, etc."

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