On 1 January 2024, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma made a startling claim, accusing sections of the Indian textile industry, particularly in Tamil Nadu, of illegally “importing” cheap laborers from Bangladesh. He stated that this incentivization encourages a significant influx of Bangladeshi nationals into India.
Speaking during a press conference, Sarma linked the infiltration to the collapse of the textile industry in Bangladesh following recent unrest and the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government. “The textile industry in Bangladesh has virtually collapsed due to the disruptions there. Bangladeshi textile workers, primarily from the majority community, are now crossing into India, and many textile factory owners, especially in Tamil Nadu, are incentivizing this by offering low-wage opportunities,” Sarma alleged.
The Assam Chief Minister highlighted an alarming increase in illegal infiltration across the Assam and Tripura borders, with Assam police detecting 20 to 30 infiltrators daily. Similar trends have been observed in Tripura. Since the disruptions began, Assam has pushed back approximately 1,000 infiltrators.
Sarma criticized the practices of some industrial houses in Tamil Nadu, claiming they were exploiting the situation for cheap labor. “We have to strike at those industrial houses which are incentivizing people to come to India in the form of cheap labor,” he said.
Sarma also pointed out the resilience of Bangladeshi Hindus amid the unrest, stating that none of them had crossed into Assam in the last five months despite being a persecuted minority.
The Chief Minister revealed that the matter had been raised in the recent North Eastern Council (NEC) meeting in Agartala and discussed with Home Minister Amit Shah. He also spoke with Northeast and West Bengal counterparts to address the growing crisis.
The Assam government has adopted a strict pushback policy for infiltrators instead of detaining them, as arrests often lead to bail and continued illegal stay. “We created another way to push them back immediately,” Sarma said.
Sarma emphasized that the Central Government is taking the issue seriously and is working on measures to address it.
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