Without Judgement no person is in Transit Camp : Chandramohan

way2barak, March 6: “Without the judgment of Foreigners Tribunal (FT) or courts, no person was lodged in the transit camp by designating them as foreigner.” State parliamentary affairs minister Chandra Mohan Patowary informed the House on Wednesday.

Opposition MLAs contested the govt’s stance, citing concerns about individuals being labelled as ‘D’ (doubtful) voters without proper verification of family records, who are subsequently held in Goalpara district’s transit camp.

Patowary clarified that the facility at Matia is designated as a transit camp, not a detention camp, as its purpose is repatriation. In 2023, inmates from six detention camps across various state prisons were consolidated into the single transit camp at Matia in Goalpara district. “Presently, there is only one such transit camp in Assam, which is in Goalpara,” Patowary said.

He added that the facility houses ‘doubtful citizens’ who faced cases and failed to prove their Indian citizenship according to FT orders. The ‘D’ voter classification, introduced by ECI in 1997, was not a govt initiative. “Anyone designated as ‘D’ voter by ECI can approach the high court and Supreme Court,” Patowary said, adding that FT judgement can remove the designation.

AIUDF MLAs criticised the govt for allegedly targeting minorities with the ‘D’ tag without proper citizenship verification. Independent MLA Akhil Gogoi called for the closure of the Matia detention camp and requested the NRC report’s presentation in the assembly. Akhil suggested that an accurate NRC could resolve the ‘D’ voter issue.

AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam alleged police involvement in creating citizenship uncertainty for genuine Indian citizens, claiming proper verification protocols were often ignored. He suggested forming an all-party House committee to assess conditions of ‘D’ voters in the detention centre.

Fellow AIUDF legislator Rafiqul Islam highlighted cases where individual family members face FT proceedings while their relatives maintain Indian citizenship. Akhil noted that the ‘D’ voter designation affects various communities, including Nepali, Koch-Rajbongshi, Hajong, Garo, and Rabha. “If there are foreign nationals in the detention camp, measures should be implemented for their immediate deportation. They should be deported whilst being treated humanely,” Akhil stated.

CPM MLA Manoranjan Talukdar advocated for releasing genuine Indians from the transit camp and deporting foreigners, whilst calling for the facility’s closure. Official records indicate 1,18,134 ‘D’ voters in Assam, with 258 individuals detained at the Goalpara transit camp as of Feb 24.