Sangram Committee convenes mass convention on NRC

Special Correspondent

Silchar, Sept 11: gariktwa Suraksha Sangram Committee (NSSC) has convened a mass convention on Friday in the District Library Auditorium here on the issue of raging controversy over NRC update. There has been widespread resentment and apprehension among the linguistic and religious minorities at the way the update is being carried on which has reached its fil stage. It is quite unfortute as Sashanka Sekhar Paul, one of the conveners, said the applications of minorities are being particularly scrutinized by adopting different yardsticks and parametres.

 According to the information of the Committee, the applications of around 63,000 citizens in Barak Valley alone have been clubbed under the list of suspects. A rough estimate calculates their number to be around 2.5 lakh on the basis of four members in a family. It is also most discrimitory, as pointed out by Pradip Kumar Deb, another convener, that even those above suspicion among the minorities would be listed as ‘NOI’ while those of the majority community as ‘OI’. All this, as he said, smacks of a conspiracy to deprive the ‘NOIs’ of their citizenship and also the basic rights.

 After all the hassles faced by the Bengalis in the me of ‘D’ voters and detention in detention camps, this has become another challenge for them. Arungshu Bhattacharjee, a frontline member of the Committee, expressed his surprise at the stand of the MPs and MLAs as well as a Minister and Deputy Speaker from this valley on the issue who are tightlipped. Their stand is in no way different from that of their predecessors. It is true some of them have expressed their apprehension in the Assembly and the Parliament, but without any positive action.

 gariktwa Suraksha Sangram Committee leaders hit out at Sarbanda Sonowal Government for continue to play the Congress game of issuing foreigners’ notices on minority members indiscrimitely. In the Hojai assembly constituency, during the last one month, 7,000 such notices have been served on citizens. The Central Government has also come under attack for issuing permanent visas to the people who migrated from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh some time back. But, in the case of the thousands of refugees under compulsions from Bangladesh, no protective measures have been announced till date.

 The Committee has also raised question about the statement of Chandra Mohan Patowary, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, to provide the post 1971 refugees with maximum three years visa. After that, what will happen to them, it asks? The Sangram Committee has reached out to the citizens of Barak Valley to attend the convention in order to formulate definite strategy to meet the emerging situation.