Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) today informed the state government that it is going to file a fresh petition before the Supreme Court (SC) for re-examination of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the updated final list of which was published on August 31, 2019. The influential students’ organisation also requested Dispur to form a high-level committee for implementation of Clause 7 of the Assam Accord, on the lines of the panel formed for Clause 6 implementation.
This emerged during a meeting of the sub-committee for implementation of the Assam Accord, of which AASU is one of the parties, at the Assam Secretariat on Wednesday. The meeting was chaired by the cabinet minister for Implementation of Assam Accord, Atul Bora, in the presence of AASU’s chief adviser Dr Samujjal Bhattacharjya, president Utpal Sarma and general secretary Samiran Phukon, as well as senior officials of the department.
Talking to the media at the end of the hours-long meeting, AASU president Utpal Sarma said, “Today, the sixth meeting of the sub-committee for implementation of the Assam Accord was held under the chairmanship of departmental minister Atul Bora. During the discussions, we submitted a written representation for the implementation of all the clauses of the Assam Accord. It’s been a long time since the sub-committee was formed, and we have decided that the final meeting of the panel will be held on August 8, 2025, when the report of the sub-committee will finalise the report. Clause 7 is one of the important clauses of the Assam Accord, and we are seeking the constitution of a high-level committee with a renowned educationist and economist included in it. We received a positive response from the government towards this end.”
Regarding Clause 7 of the Assam Accord 1985, it is stated, “The government takes this opportunity to renew their commitment for the speedy all-round economic development of Assam so as to improve the standard of living of the people. Special emphasis will be placed on education and science & technology through the establishment of national institutions.”
On the final NRC after the updating process, AASU president Sarma said, “In the last meeting of the sub-committee, we had received an assurance from the state government that a petition for the re-examination of the NRC will filed by the state government. But, due to the process of delimitation of constituencies, the government had told us that it would make a move on the re-examination after the process has been completed. However, the government did not proceed on their assurance even after the completion of the delimitation process. Recently, the Supreme Court had issued a judgement that all cases related to the NRC had been disposed of at the time of validating Section 6(A) of the Citizenship Act. Now, we have decided that we will seek re-examination of the NRC through a fresh petition, and we also appealed to the state government to file a similar petition. During the meeting, Minister Atul Bora informed us that he will inform us about the state government’s decision after consultation with the Home and Political Departments.”
After the publication of the final NRC, the AASU, Assam Public Works (APW) and several other organisations submitted a petition in the Supreme Court seeking re-examination of the NRC. When the final NRC was published on August 31, 2019, around 19 lakh people were kept out of the list.
AASU’s chief adviser Dr Samujjal Bhattacharjya said, “The final NRC contains the names of Bangladeshis, and we are not at all satisfied with the final list. The state government had stated several times that it would file a petition in the Supreme Court for re-examination of the NRC list, but it did not do so. The main petitioner in the NRC case is the APW, and we are in touch with the organisation. We, in the AASU, have decided to again move the Supreme Court for re-examination of the NRC.”
AASU general secretary Samiran Phukon, in his turn, said, “The state government is constructing a Swahid Smarak Udyan at Boragaon in Guwahati. Next month, we will conduct a joint visit with government representatives to the upcoming Udyan.”
Minister Atul Bora also said, “We held a meeting with AASU today on the implementation of Assam Accord. After this, the sub-committee will hold a meeting with the chief minister on the same issue. The panel’s final report will be prepared on August 8. We have apprised the AASU of the steps taken for the implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord. Regarding NRC, the AASU had given certain suggestions, which we will discuss with the Home & Political departments. We are constructing a Swahid Smarak Udyan in Guwahati, but we have not managed to collect the photographs of many martyrs, and we sought the help of AASU on this issue.”
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