Guwahati: The National Legal Services Authority (NLSA) has directed Assam State Legal Services Authority to provide assistance to people declared ‘D’ voters or facing trial in foreigners tribunals of the state in accordance with the provisions of the Legal Services Authorities Act.

D or doubtful voters are who were people disenfranchised during electoral roll revision for their alleged lack of proper citizenship credentials.

Assam parliamentary affairs minister Chandra Mohan Patowary had said in the Assembly in February that the state has 1,25,333 D-voters.

The Election Commission, during an intensive revision of electoral rolls in 1997, had ordered that the letter D be written against the names of voters who fail to provide citizenship proof and their cases were referred to foreigners tribunals in the state. The D-voters have been barred from casting votes since then.

According to leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia, the NLSA issued the directive on July 17 in response to letters written by him highlighting the alleged harassment faced by people prosecuted as foreign nationals despite having strong documentary evidence of Indian citizenship.

Welcoming the NLSA’s move, Saikia hoped the Assam State Legal Service Authority would provide assistance, including free legal aid, to people like Rebati Das, Anna Bala Ray and the family of former Deputy Speaker Maulana Amiruddin, who have been allegedly harassed despite possessing valid documents to prove their citizenship.

Saikia had written to the NLSA after having visited the detention camps in Goalpara, Kokrajhar and Cachar in the last couple of years and collecting data from the inmates while interacting with them. There are six detention camps in Assam, all housed in jails.

The office of the Opposition leader has written letters to the President, the Prime Minister, the Union home minister and others, highlighting the plight of genuine Indian citizens persecuted as foreign nationals and sought steps to alleviate their misery.

Union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that 52 Bangladeshi nationals, who have been in a detention camp in Assam, will be deported on July 30.

“Bangladesh has accepted these people as their nationals. They will be deported at 11am on July 30 from Mancachar integrated checkpost in Assam,” Rijiju said while replying to a question by Congress MP Ripun Bora.

News Source Telegraph India