Patna, February 9 (ABN). On the fifth day of the Bihar Legislative Assembly's budget session on Monday, BJP MLA from Baikunthpur assembly constituency in Gopalganj district, Mithilesh Tiwari, raised a serious national security issue related to the Home Department during the question hour. Mithilesh Tiwari asked about the arrival and settlement of Pakistani citizens in Gopalganj between 1990 and 2015. In response, Home Minister Samrat Choudhary said that all people coming to Bihar on a religious visa would be scrutinized. Their stay, movement, and travel history would be monitored.

Mithilesh Tiwari asked the government about the process of identifying and verifying foreign citizens coming for religious tours. The MLA told the House that some people come to India on a religious tour and then obtain citizenship. He also stated that such people often build houses in many areas, acquire land and property, and get their names registered on the voter list.

MLA Mithilesh Tiwari said that his area has an important religious site, the Thawe temple, but there are no other major religious sites. Despite this, some foreign citizens are regularly seen there. He also asked why local people have information about these individuals when they arrive, but there is no clear government record of their departure. He demanded to know from the Home Department whether photographs of these foreign citizens are taken, whether they are verified by the immigration department, and whether documents related to their travel are kept by the department.

Home Minister Samrat Choudhary informed the House that between 1995 and 2015, a total of 173 foreign citizens came to Bihar on a religious tour, out of which 168 were from Pakistan, while some were from the UK and Uzbekistan. The Minister clarified that the government ensures that no foreign citizen coming on a tourist or religious visa is involved in criminal activities.

He said that all cases are monitored under the process laid down by the government. However, MLA Tiwari expressed concern in the House that at the local level, complete information about the activities of such foreign citizens does not reach the administration, making it difficult to identify and verify them. The MLA also asked that if a foreign citizen stays in India for a long time on the pretext of a religious tour, acquires property, or gets included in the voter list, clear and strict guidelines should be formulated to take action against them. The Home Ministry assured that transparency would be maintained in the process of citizenship and permanent residence for foreign citizens, and no illegal activity would be tolerated.