The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) is set to hold a statewide protest on Friday against the BJP-led government’s move to drop ongoing cases against “illegal Bangladeshi Hindus” in the state’s Foreigners Tribunals.

AASU president Utpal Sarma on Thursday said: “We are opposed to the Assam government’s directive to the deputy commissioners (DC) and senior superintendents of police (SP) to drop all Foreigners Tribunals (FT) cases against illegal Bangladeshi Hindus and also encourage them to acquire Indian citizenship through the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).”

FTs are quasi-judicial bodies determining citizenship.

The CAA, passed in 2019, fast-tracks citizenship to undocumented non-Muslims who have entered India from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan before 2015. The rules governing the act were notified in March 2024.

“We will be holding protest in all district headquarters on August 8 and also burn copies of the government directive during the protest,” Utpal said.

AASU’s protest follows the government’s direction to the district administrations to review the status of all foreigners and dropping cases belonging to six specified communities (Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, Sikh, Parsi and Jain communities) who entered into Assam on or prior to December 12, 2014.

Those who have entered by 2014 become eligible for citizenship under the CAA.

According to deliberations at a meeting convened by the state home and political department on July 17, FTs can’t pursue cases against the six communities who had entered Assam before 2015 and were suggested to drop all such cases. The DCs and senior SPs were asked to hold a meeting with their respective FT members and periodically update the department on the issue.

The government also wanted that such foreigners be encouraged to apply for citizenship under the CAA. The meeting also conveyed the prompt withdrawal of all FT cases against Gorkhas and Koch-Rajbongshis.

Utpal asserted the state’s “burning” foreigners issue has to be resolved through the 1985 Assam Accord. “Those who have come after March 24, 1971, whether Hindus or Muslims, will have to leave. Assam will not be allowed to be a dumping ground of illegal foreigners,” he said.