Staff Reporter
Guwahati,: The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) today expressed anguish that 41 years since the signing of the Assam Accord, the foreigners’ issue in the state is yet to be resolved due to the lack of sincerity of both the central and state governments.
The Assam Accord was signed by representatives of AASU, All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad, the central government and the Assam government in New Delhi on August 14, 1985, in the presence of the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The main objective of the Assam Accord is to detect and deport all illegal Bangladeshis; provide constitutional, legal and administrative protection; and preserve the cultural, social and linguistic identity of the Assamese people, apart from economic development of the state.
AASU president Utpal Sarma said, “The Assam Agitation went on for six years, and it is now 41 years since the Assam Accord was signed. This means that 47 years have passed, but our main problem remains unsolved. As a result, demographic changes have occurred, radical forces have taken root on Assam’s soil, and the Assamese people are headed to a minority.”
“All governments—Congress, AGP, and BJP—have failed to address the foreigners’ issue in the 41 years since the Assam Accord was signed. The government has failed to prepare an accurate NRC, implement Clause Six of the Accord, declare Assam’s flood and erosion a national problem, and provide economic safeguards to the people. So, we demand that the central and state governments should announce a time-bound action plan to implement each and every clause of the Assam Accord,” Sarma added.
The signatories to the historic Assam Accord were Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and Bhrigu Kumar Phukan from AASU; Biraj Kumar Sarma from the All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad; RD Pradhan, Home Secretary, Government of India; and PP Trivedi, Chief Secretary of Assam.
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