Guwahati, July 17: Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi today strongly objected to the statement made by Union minister of state for home affairs Sriprakash Jaiswal in the Rajya Sabha about the presence of 50 lakh illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in the state.

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Gogoi said the figure stated by Jaiswal was not based on facts and should have been verified from the state government as it was a very sensitive issue fraught with serious political ramifications.

“The statement made by him without verifying it from the state government has created confusion and consternation in the minds of the people in general and among linguistic and religious minority population in the state in particular,” the chief minister said.

According to Gogoi, Jaiswal’s statement was not based on facts as all those who entered Assam till March 24, 1971 are Indian citizens. Besides, there has been a lower population growth rate after 1971, he added.

“Even the doubtful voters on the electoral rolls, numbering about 1.95 lakh at present, have the chance to prove their citizenship before the appropriate authorities,” he pointed out in the letter.

Gogoi wrote a similar letter to Union home minister Shivraj Patil today, seeking his intervention to put matters straight.

In a written reply to an unstarred question in the Rajya Sabha on July 14, Jaiswal had categorically mentioned that an estimated 50 lakh illegal Bangladeshi immigrants were present in Assam as on December 31, 2001.