The Tipra Motha – a constituent of the ruling BJP-led alliance – has demanded the detection and deportation of all illegal migrants from Bangladesh residing in Tripura.

A four-member delegation of the party, led by MLA Ranjit Debbarma, met Governor N Indrasena Reddy and raised the demand on Friday.

“We met the Governor today. The issue is that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has stipulated a 30-day timeframe to start the process of detection and deportation of illegal migrants in Tripura. In other states, including Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Assam, the process has already started. We have demanded that the process be started in Tripura too,” Debbarma told reporters after meeting Governor Reddy.

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He added that a similar kind of notification was also issued in 2017.

The Tipra Motha leader said that not only the illegal migrants, but also those providing shelter to them, must be brought under the purview of the law.

Earlier, Debbarma wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the illegal entry of Bangladeshi nationals, urging him to push them back.

The Twipra Students’ Federation (TSF) has also demanded that the government start the process of detecting and deporting Bangladeshi migrants staying illegally in the state.

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“We have seen that other states are doing it. But the Tripura government is silent. We appeal to the government to take strong initiative regarding the notification. We have started the ‘clean and drive illegal migrants mission’ from today,” Hamal Jamatia, General Secretary, TSF, said.

As per a report of the Tripura Police, 816 Bangladeshi nationals, 79 Rohingya persons, and two Nigerians were arrested between January 1, 2024, and February 28 this year for staying illegally in Tripura.

A further breakup of the data shows that 483 illegal foreigners were arrested from August 5, 2024, when the Sheikh Hasina government fell in Bangladesh.