The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), a key ally in Assam’s ruling coalition, has announced its decision to petition the Supreme Court to exempt the state from a new Central government order on foreign immigrants. The party believes the directive, which extends the cut-off date for eligibility for citizenship, violates the 1985 Assam Accord.
AGP vice-president Kumar Deepak Das told reporters on Saturday that the party will file a writ petition before the Supreme Court. “Any step that seeks to dilute or is against the Assam Accord will be protested vehemently by our party,” he stated.
The new order, issued under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, allows non-Muslim migrants who entered India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan on or before December 31, 2024, to stay without valid documents if they fled religious persecution. This represents a significant shift from the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA), which had set the cut-off date a decade earlier, on December 31, 2014. Critics argue this extension will disproportionately affect Assam.
Das expressed the AGP’s “full faith in the judiciary” and its confidence that the Supreme Court will rule in the state’s favor. He also noted that the party has not yet decided whether to remain a part of the NDA alliance.
The AGP had previously filed a separate petition against the CAA in the Supreme Court, a case which is still pending. With this new legal challenge, the party is reaffirming its stance that Assam, a state already burdened by illegal immigration, cannot accept the additional influx of migrants.
