Himanta Biswa Sarma denies dropping cases against Hindu Bengalis under Foreign Tribunal Act

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma addressed concerns regarding citizenship cases under the amended Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and said that the state government is not dropping any cases but encouraging applicants to follow the legal process.

In a press statement, Sarma disclosed that only eight individuals have applied for citizenship under the CAA in the last four months. Out of these applicants, only two have attended their interviews so far.

"When I contacted many Hindu Bengali families about why they have not applied under CAA, they expressed confidence in their Indian citizenship, having entered India prior to 1971. They prefer to prove their citizenship in the court of law rather than applying under CAA," Sarma explained.

Responding to queries about the reported dropping of cases against Hindu Bengalis, Sarma clarified, "This is misleading... we cannot drop any cases. We are only suggesting that before filing a case, applicants should apply through the portal. Even if a case is filed, there will be no result as they are entitled to citizenship."

"We are not deciding to drop or not drop cases. We are simply flagging the legal provisions," Sarma said.

The Chief Minister also mentioned ongoing outreach programs in Barak Valley to encourage more applications under CAA, despite the low number of applications received thus far.