Assam Accord: Centre, Dispur urged to implement each and every clause of the pact

 Today is the 37th anniversary of Assam Accord

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: In view of the fact that midnight of August 14 next will mark the 37th anniversary of signing of the historic Assam Accord of 1985, the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) has pointed out that several clauses of the pact still remain unimplemented and consequently urged the Centre and state governments to implement these in a time-bound manner.

Talking to The Sentinel, AASU president Dipanka Kumar Nath said that the six-year-long Assam Agitation was launched in 1979 against the presence of illegal migrants from Bangladesh. He said that various political parties had formed governments at the Centre and the state after 1985, but the AASU failed to notice any keenness on their part to fully implement the Assam Accord. Nath said that the main role in implementing the accord ought to have been played by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, which is the nodal ministry for implementation of the accord.

"The government is now talking about the threat posed by jihadis, but the AASU and the people of Assam had highlighted the issue way back during the agitation period. That is why we had demanded total sealing of the Indo-Bangladesh border. Unfortunately, total sealing of the border has not been possible till date," Nath said. He said that some kilometres of the border remain unfenced in the Karimganj district. As such, the Centre should resolve any pending issue in this regard via talks with the Bangladesh government, he said.

Nath said the Clause-6 is one of core aspects of the Assam Accord because it pertains to providing constitutional safeguards to the Assamese people. He lamented that although a high-level committee was constituted by the Union Home Ministry a few years ago under the chairmanship of Justice (Retd) Bipab Kumar Sharma and it duly submitted its report, but no one knows the current status of the report and whether its recommendations will be implemented. He reiterated that the AASU is firm in its stand that each and every clause of the Assam Accord will have to be implemented as expeditiously as possible.

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