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Opposition questions govt, AASU silence on crucial Clause 5 of Assam Accord
The clause relates to detection, deletion (from electoral rolls) and deportation of foreigners who entered Assam illegally after March 25, 1971. On Tuesday, Assam government and AASU agreed on forming a panel to implement clauses 6, 7, 9 and 10 of the accord
Opposition parties in Assam have slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government and the All Assam Students Union (AASU) for their silence on the crucial Clause 5 of Assam Accord during a meeting held on Tuesday to discuss the implementation of the 36-year-old deal.
The clause relates to detection, deletion (from electoral rolls) and deportation of foreigners who entered Assam illegally after March 25, 1971. On Tuesday, Assam govt. and AASU agreed on forming a panel to implement clauses 6, 7, 9 and 10 of the accord.
The Assam Accord was a tripartite agreement signed in 1985 between the Centre, the All Assam Students Union (AASU) and the All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad (AAGSP) that brought the six-year-long anti-foreigner movement in the state to an end.
While some provisions of the accord, which primarily sought detection and deportation of foreigners who entered the state after March 25, 1971, have been implemented, several others, including Clause 6, have remained unfulfilled.
“It is surprising that both the state government and AASU remained silent on Clause 5 while they formed another committee to seek ways to implement other clauses in the accord. The heart of the Assam Accord has been taken away,” Congress MLA and leader of opposition in state assembly Debabrata Saikia said.
On Monday, AASU and state government agreed on forming an eight-member sub-committee consisting of three Cabinet ministers and five AASU representatives. It has been given a timeline of three months (after formation) to prepare the accord implementation roadmap.
The sub-committee would look into all aspects of the accord including Clause 6 that deals with providing constitutional safeguards to Assamese people, Clause 7 on economic development, Clause 9 on securing the India-Bangladesh border to prevent further infiltration, Clause 10 on prevention of encroachment of government lands, AASU chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya said.
“A committee constituted by Centre has already submitted its recommendations on implementing Clause 6 of the accord. No action has been taken on that and instead another new sub-committee has been formed. This seems like a ploy to confuse the public and distract them from the real issue,” said Saikia.
Clause 6 of the accord states, “Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, as may be appropriate, shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people”.
In February last year, a 13-member committee formed by Centre had submitted to the state government its recommendations of how to implement Clause 6.
“The government has killed the basic premise of Assam Accord i.e. Clause 5, which deals with detection, deletion and deportation of illegal foreigners,” said Md Aminul Islam, MLA and organising secretary of All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF).
“The present chief minister was a minister for the Assam Accord implementation for 10 years in previous governments. He failed to do anything at that time and now a new drama has started with creation of another committee as the present government doesn’t have any agenda for development,” he added.
Following Tuesday’s meeting, parliamentary affairs minister Pijush Hazarika had said that both the state government and AASU decided to move ahead first with issues on which both sides didn’t have any dispute and then focus on all other aspects of the accord.
“We discussed on ways to implement clauses 6, 7, 9 and 10 of the accord. Talks were also held on issues on which both sides had differences and try and find ways to move forward,” he said.
