More than 1.29 lakh people declared foreigners by tribunals in Assam: Nityanand Rai

New Delhi: More than 1.29 lakh people in Assam have been declared foreigners by various foreigners tribunals till October 2019 while over 1.14 lakh others were declared Indian citizens by the same tribunals. While confirming the numbers in Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai further added that over 4.68 lakh cases have been referred to the tribunals in Assam so far.

While responding to a question in Lok Sabha, the Union Minister said, "As per the information made available by the Assam government, 1,14,225 people were declared Indian citizens by the foreigners tribunals in Assam as of October 2019."

Rai went on to add that 1,29,009 people were declared foreigners by the tribunals in Assam and stressed that no child was declared foreigner. A total of 4,68,905 matters were referred to the foreigners tribunals in the state as of October 2019, he said.

Further talking about the deportations, the union minister said that among the total foreigners deported from the country this year, four were Bangladeshi nationals and two were from Afghanistan.

Earlier in August, more than 19 lakh people in Assam were excluded from the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) list. The final list triggered a major backlash from the local people who alleged that the whole NRC exercise was flawed and included even the legitimate citizens of the country.