The rise in the number of illegal immigrants shows a rise of around 67 per cent over the 1.2 crore estimate given out by the UPA Government in 2004 but withdrawn soon after. At that time there were reports of Bangladeshi nationals having entered the country without valid travel documents in north eastern states of the country. Since entry of such Bangladeshi nationals into the country is clandestine and surreptitious, it is not possible to have accurate data of such Bangladeshi nationals living in various parts of the country. This was the stand of the government of that day. The then Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal in 2004 in reply to a question dated July 15, 2004, had stated that 1,20,53,950 illegal Bangladeshi migrants were residing in 17 states and Union Territories. The BJP, which was then the main opposition party, demanded that the 12 lakh illegal Bangladeshi immigrants be identified and deported. As a political storm brewed in states like Assam, Jaiswal withdrew his reply, dismissing the 12 million figure as one based on “unreliable reports” and “hearsay”. However, last year Union Minister Kiran Rijiju said it was a conscious decision by Modi government to highlight the 20 million estimate of illegal Bangladeshi migrants residing in India. Incidentally, Rijiju’s reply does not dwell on a definite strategy of the government to identify and deport the 20 million illegal Bangladeshi migrants. Deportation of illegally staying foreign nationals is a continuous process. The powers of identification, detention and deportation of illegal foreign nationals including Bangladeshi nationals have been delegated to the state governments and Union Territories under Section 3(2)(c) of the Foreigners Act, 1946. BJP is in power even in the north eastern states which shows the highest incidence of illegal immigration from Bangladesh. And today government has done what the UPA government in 2004 had done first giving a number and then retracting the step. Policy inertia has been there with the political parties when it comes to appeasing minorities whether they are from outside or within the country.
