Manufacturing Infiltrators, Manufacturing Fear Assam Deserves Facts, Not Political Fiction

Abdul Sathar, National Treasurer of the Social Democratic Party of India, has strongly condemned the baseless and provocative statement made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Dhemaji, where he claimed that seven districts of Assam are occupied by 6.4 million infiltrators and attributed this alleged transformation to two decades of Congress rule while asserting that only the BJP can reverse it. He described the claim as electoral misinformation that risks deepening social divisions and distorting public understanding of migration and citizenship.

Presenting verifiable facts that contradict the assertion, Abdul Sathar noted that the Ministry of Home Affairs acknowledged in a Right to Information reply dated January 23, 2026, that it does not maintain any centralised nationwide data on the identification, apprehension, or deportation of alleged infiltrators, clarifying that such responsibilities lie with state governments and Union Territories under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025. He further pointed out that Assam government figures show that between January 2021 and October 2025 only 32,207 individuals were identified as illegal foreigners across the state and merely 1,416 were deported, numbers that stand in stark contrast to the millions cited in the Home Minister’s speech.

He warned that branding long settled Muslim communities as infiltrators blurs the distinction between historical residents, including families present before the 1971 Assam Accord cutoff, and recent undocumented entrants, thereby undermining constitutional protections and communal harmony. After a decade of governance at the Centre and in Assam, he said responsibility cannot be evaded through unverifiable statistics when credible data is absent. The party called for an end to fear driven political narratives, full transparency in migration related data, and policies rooted in constitutional values, evidence, and inclusive development so that unity, justice, and equal citizenship remain protected.