Guwahati, Feb 8: The Congress party staged statewide protests across Assam on Friday, condemning the inhumane treatment of deported Indian citizens by US authorities and the Modi government’s failure to take a strong stance on the issue.
Hundreds of Congress leaders and workers were detained in multiple districts as they gathered at district headquarters, holding demonstrations against the BJP-led NDA government’s weak response.
Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) spokesperson Monalisha Baruah Hazarika stated, “There is widespread anger and shame across Assam over the ill-treatment of Indians by US authorities. All DCCs held protests involving senior leaders, party functionaries, and workers.”
In Guwahati, Congress workers staged a protest at Rajiv Bhawan, shouting slogans like “Modi-Trump Hi Hi” and “BJP’s Foreign Policy Hi Hi” to express their discontent.
APCC president Bhupen Kumar Borah, leading a protest in Lakhimpur, strongly condemned the Union government for failing to defend Indian citizens facing humiliating deportation conditions in the US.
Borah also criticized PM Modi’s unfulfilled promises regarding the deportation of foreign nationals from Assam, a key campaign issue before the 2014 elections.
As Congress workers attempted to march from Rajiv Bhawan, police intervened and detained hundreds of protesters, including APCC working president Zakir Hussain Sikdar, Mahila Congress president Meera Barthakur Goswami, former MP RP Sharma, MLAs Nandita Das and Rekibuddin Ahmed and Guwahati City Congress president Gopal Sarma.
The protests come after a US military aircraft deported 104 illegal Indian immigrants to Amritsar on Wednesday—marking the first such mass deportation under the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Many deportees alleged their hands and legs were cuffed throughout the journey, a violation of human rights under the Geneva Convention.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Bhupen Kumar Borah declared, “Assam Congress protests at Rajiv Bhawan, demanding PM Modi’s resignation after the humiliation of Indian citizens deported from the US in handcuffs and chains.”
He further stated, “We carried out protests across the state against the injustice faced by Indians during deportation. I personally joined the protest in Ghilamora, Lakhimpur district.”
