Guwahati, Dec. 10: Less than a week after the Supreme Court quashed a central notification that had revived a pro-migrant clause in the repealed Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, the Congress is back to making a noise about minorities being left in the lurch.

Delhi is undecided on whether to appeal against the court ruling against the Foreigners (Tribunals for Assam) Order, 2006, but the minority cell of the Assam unit of the Congress has already begun campaigning for a “judicial shield” to protect “genuine citizens” from harassment in the name of detecting and deporting foreigners.

Misbahul Islam Laskar, the chairman of the minority cell, has convened a two-day conclave of Congress leaders representing the minorities from Thursday to work out a strategy to strengthen the campaign. “We are not against deportation of Bangladeshis, if any, residing in Assam. They must go. But at the same time, we cannot allow harassment of Indians on the pretext of identifying foreigners,” he said.

On December 5, the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to put the onus of proving that someone is an illegal migrant solely on the complainant. It asked Delhi to constitute sufficient number of tribunals under the Foreigners Act within four months to settle pending complaints against thousands of suspected Bangladeshis residing in Assam.

Delhi had incorporated the controversial clause into the Foreigners Act in February, barely six months after the apex court struck down the IM(DT) Act for putting the burden of proving someone as an illegal migrant on the complainant.

The legislation was applicable only in Assam.

Laskar said the minority cell would apprise the party high command about the need for a consensus among political parties on a law that would leave no room for error. “The Foreigners Act power vests power on the police to decide who is a foreigner. That is what we are apprehensive of,” he said.

The Foreigners (Tribunals for Assam) Order was seen by the All Assam Students’ Union and all those who had campaigned against the IM(DT) Act as an attempt to bring in the same act through the backdoor. Some organisations representing the minorities joined in the protest, much to the Congress’s dismay.

Yesterday, a bandh called by the Sabibur Rahman faction of the All Assam Minority Students’ Union in protest against the verdict did not have any impact except on a few minority-inhabited pockets.