Guwahati: Four decades after the Assam Accord was signed to end the anti-foreigner agitation, its key objective—to rid the state of illegal immigrants—remains largely unaccomplished, according to the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and other political parties.
AASU leaders Utpal Sarma and Samiran Phukan stated that neither the detection nor deportation of foreigners, nor the removal of their names from voter lists, has been carried out in full. They criticized successive governments for failing to secure Assam’s identity by neglecting frontier controls and demanded action to preserve the state’s cultural and linguistic integrity.
The groups also called for the full implementation of Clause 6 of the Accord, based on the recommendations of the Justice (Retd.) Biplab Kumar Sharma Committee. They pressed for exclusion of Assam from the Citizenship Amendment Act and urged a thorough re-verification of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
While Assam Accord Implementation Minister Atul Bora asserted that the state has begun executing all 52 committee recommendations, critics say efforts remain superficial. Opposition leader Debabrata Saikia accused the BJP of opposing Clause 6 and pointed to the Citizenship Amendment Act as undermining the Accord. AJP president Lurinjyoti Gogoi echoed these concerns, highlighting the Accord’s neglect even after promises made prior to the 2014 national elections.