By our Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, Oct 15: The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) today took the bull by the horns and dared Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Ripun Bora to explain as to why the then Tarun Gogoi-led government in Assam had submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court of India in favour of the inclusion of all Bangladeshis entering Assam till 2014 in the NRC, now being updated.
Reacting to Bora’s statement in New Delhi yesterday that ‘by withdrawing a writ petition filed by it in the Supreme Court of India against the move to provide Indian citizenship to Hindu Bangladeshis the AASU has exposed its double standard on the issue of Hindu Bengalis’, AASU president Dipanko Kumar th and general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi today said: “Soon after the Centre’s move on providing Indian citizenship status to Hindu Bangladeshis we did stage a statewide satyagraha. We did also file a writ petition against the Centre’s move in the Supreme Court. However, we came to know later that another case on the issue of Hindu Bengladeshis was being heard in another bench of the apex court. With advice from our advocate, we decided to submit an intervention application in the case in the apex court by withdrawing our writ petition.”
The two AASU leaders said: “Congress leaders being vocal on Assam Accord and Bangladeshis sounds odd. It was the Tarun Gogoi-led Congress government that submitted an affidavit in the apex court in favour of including all Bangladeshis entering Assam till 2014 into the NRC. We dare Ripun Bora and the Congress to explain as to why the Congress and the government led by it did take such a step. Is it not the violation of the Assam Accord signed by none other than former Congress Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi? If this is not double standard what else is. We dare Bora to explain it before the people of Assam.”