Sibsagar MLA and Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi has strongly criticised the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Assam, saying that the promise of deporting illegal migrants “one by one” is nothing more than a political slogan ahead of the 2026 Assam Assembly elections.
Gogoi was reacting to remarks made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who said that if the BJP is re-elected in Assam, the government would ensure that illegal foreigners are deported from the state. Speaking to the media, Gogoi said that these claims were similar to statements made during previous elections and were not reflected in actual government action.
To support his stand, Gogoi referred to official replies placed in the Assam Legislative Assembly over the past few years. He said the data shows a large difference between the number of people identified as foreigners and the number who were eventually deported. 
During the Congress rule between 2001 and 2015, he pointed out that around 37,311 people were declared foreigners, while 2,719 were deported.
Under the BJP’s first term between 2016 and 2020, 76,024 people were identified, but only 260 were deported.
In the second BJP term from 2021 to 2025 (up to October 2025), 28,724 people were identified, and 1,416 were deported.
Altogether, in ten years of BJP rule, over 1 lakh people were identified as foreigners, while fewer than 1,700 were deported.
Gogoi said this shows that the gap between announcements and real action remains wide.
Gogoi said that the BJP had made many promises in 2016, including identifying illegal migrants, making Assam flood-free and removing corruption. He said the party had now been in power in Assam for nearly a decade, while also ruling at the Centre for more than 12 years.
“Now again they are asking people for more time,” he said. He added that some of the speeches made recently may also create tension in the state.
He also referred to earlier statements claiming that there were around 40 lakh illegal foreigners in Assam and said that such claims were not supported by the pace of deportation.
Gogoi also criticised the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), saying that the law goes against earlier promises made to the people of Assam. According to him, the BJP spoke about protecting Assam before elections, but later took steps that people had opposed.
He alleged that the party behaved differently before and after elections and urged voters not to depend only on the image of top national leaders.
Gogoi also raised concerns over the functioning of the opposition alliance in Assam. He expressed his dissatisfaction with certain public statements made by Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Gaurav Gogoi.
He said he did not appreciate remarks made about seat-sharing and added that such discussions should ideally take place privately rather than in the media. He also said that some Congress leaders appeared more active than others.
However, Gogoi said that the opposition would continue discussions in a democratic manner and final decisions would be taken collectively. He called for unity and discipline among all parties working together for the 2026 Assembly elections.
